11/4/2024-Plan B negotiation boosts

You get what you deserve, but how do you know if what you get is valuable? That’s why all good negotiators start first with understanding how to be good evaluators.

In negotiations, your Plan B is what happens when you get punched in the face…. (hopefully, not literally).

Say you’re humming along in a negotiation, and suddenly it turns south.

What do you do?

You turn to your Plan B – your "BATNA," the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement.

Your Plan B is the best deal you’ll take if your ideal outcome is unattainable.

Most of the time, negotiations don’t go according to plan; having a Plan B in your back pocket will often help you save the negotiation and reach a good resolution. And it’ll help you get a deal done and not walk away.

Today, develop your Plan B for an upcoming negotiation. It’s good to get in this habit because, as Mick sings, "…ya can’t always get what ya want."

Follow these two tips to construct your Plan B:

1. What specifically is optimal that you want from the negotiation? List everything that would make you yell from the mountain if you got it. Let’s call that your Plan A…it’d be great to get it, but that doesn’t happen too frequently.

2. If you don’t get all you want in the negotiation, what would you accept?

Be specific…write it down. That’s your "Plan B".

Understanding value is the fundamental skill you should study to excel as a negotiator.

Start first by ensuring you understand the value of all your negotiable assets. This may be an impossible exercise without the help of your manager, but that shouldn’t stop you from getting the answers you need.

You will create a positive outcome for your negotiations when you understand the underlying value of what you are trading.

The tricky part of most negotiations is understanding the value of the items your negotiation opponent is trying to stuff down your throat. But because you’ll work hard to make your negotiation friendly and collaborative, you’ll have the space to ask the other party to explain the value. If they’re so adamant about including the item(s) in the deal, they’ll easily be able to help you understand the value.

After developing your Plan B, you’re ready for the next lesson on strong negotiating: listening.

This fascinating TED Talk by William Ury offers insight into how listening will benefit your negotiations.

As one of the world’s most influential experts on negotiating and the cofounder of Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, Ury shares great anecdotes that will fascinate you and prove how opening your ears is needed to support your Plan B!