Talk less and listen more
The biggest weakness of inexperienced negotiators is that they can't listen to each other patiently. They think that their task is to say their own situation, say what they want to say, and refute each other's objections. So in the process of negotiation, they always think about what to say in their minds and don't pay attention to each other's speeches, so a lot of valuable information is lost. They mistakenly believe that good negotiators have the initiative in negotiations because they talk too much. In fact, successful negotiators will spend more than 50% of their time listening in the negotiation. They listen, think and analyze, and constantly ask questions to each other to ensure that they understand each other completely and correctly. They listened carefully to everything the other party said, not just what they thought was important or wanted to hear, so they got a lot of valuable information and increased their bargaining chips. Effective listening can help us understand the needs of importers, find new ways to solve problems, and modify our quotation or counter-offer. Say it's a task, listening is an ability, even a talent. "Listening" is a necessary condition for any successful negotiator. In the negotiation, we should try our best to encourage each other to talk more. We should say "yes" and "please go on" to each other, and ask them to answer questions, so that they can talk more about themselves and get to know each other as much as possible.
Clever question
The second important skill in negotiation is to ask questions skillfully. By asking questions, you can not only get information that you can't get at ordinary times, but also confirm your previous judgment. Exporters should use open-ended questions (that is, questions whose answers are not "yes" or "no" and need special explanation) to understand importers' needs, because such questions can let importers freely talk about their needs. For example, "Can you tell me more about your campus?" "What do you think of our proposal?" When answering foreign businessmen, you should write down the key points and key questions for later use.
After the quotation, the importer usually asks, "Can't you do better?" We should not give in to this question, but ask, "What do you mean better?" Or "better than what?" These questions allow importers to explain their dissatisfaction. For example, the importer will say, "Your competitors offer better terms." At this time, you can continue to ask questions until you fully understand the competitor's offer. Then, we can explain to each other that our quotation is different and actually better than that of our competitors. If the other party gives a vague answer to our request, such as "no problem", we should not accept it, but ask him to give a specific answer. In addition, before asking questions, especially at the beginning of negotiations, we should get the consent of the other party, which has two advantages: first, if the other party agrees with our questions, it will be more cooperative when answering questions; Second, if the other party's answer is "yes", this positive answer will create a positive atmosphere for the negotiations and bring a good start.
Use conditional questions
When the two sides have a preliminary understanding of each other, the negotiations will enter the stage of making an offer and making a counter-offer. At this stage, we should use more tentative conditions to further understand each other's specific situation in order to modify our offer.
A conditional question consists of a conditional adverbial clause and a question * * *, which can be a special question or a general question. There are two typical conditional questions: "What if" and "If then". For example, "What would you do if we agreed to a two-year contract?" And "if we modify your specifications, will you consider ordering in large quantities?" In international business negotiations, conditional questions have many special advantages.
(1) Give in to each other. The offers and suggestions made by conditional questions are based on the premise that the other party accepts our conditions. In other words, our offer will only be established when the other party accepts our terms, so we will not be bound by the offer unilaterally, nor will we make any concessions unilaterally. Only by meeting each other half way can the deal be reached.
(2) Obtain information. If the other party makes a counter-offer to our conditional question, the other party will provide us with valuable information indirectly, concretely and in time. For example, we said, "What if we agree to a two-year contract? Can you give us the exclusive distribution right in our area? " The other party replied, "We will be ready to give you exclusive agency." It can be judged from the answer that the other party is concerned about long-term cooperation. The newly obtained information is very helpful for future negotiations.
(3) Seek * * * similarity. If the other party refuses our conditions, we can change other conditions, put forward new conditional questions and make new offers to the other party. The other party can also make a counter-offer to us with conditional questions. The two sides continued to negotiate and make concessions to each other until they found important similarities.
4 instead of "no". In the negotiation, if you directly say "no" to the other party, the other party will feel humiliated, both parties will feel embarrassed, and the negotiation will even come to a deadlock. If you use conditional questions instead of "no", the above situation will not occur. For example, when the other party puts forward additional requirements that we can't agree to, we can ask the other party with conditional questions: "If we meet your additional requirements, are you willing to bear the additional costs?" If the other party is unwilling to pay the extra fee, it will refuse its request, and we will not lose the other party's cooperation.
Avoid ambiguity caused by cross-border cultural exchanges.
Most international business negotiations are conducted in English, and the mother tongue of both parties is often not English, which increases the difficulty of communication. In this case, we should try our best to use simple, clear and definite English, and don't use polysemous words, puns, slang and idioms that are easy to cause misunderstanding. Don't use words that are easy to offend others, such as "tell you the truth" and "I will tell you the truth …" and "I will try my best." And "It's none of my business, but ...". These words have the color of distrust, which will make the other party worried and unwilling to actively cooperate with us. A serious common fault in cross-cultural communication is "judging others by oneself", that is, subjectively thinking that the other party will understand our words according to our wishes and habits, or that what we understand from the other party's words is exactly what the other party wants to express. The most typical example is the use and understanding of "yes" and "no". Once, an American company and a Japanese company held business negotiations. During the negotiation, the American was glad to find that every time he put forward an opinion, the other side nodded yes. He found the negotiations particularly smooth. It was not until he asked to sign the contract that he was shocked to find that the Japanese said "yes" as a polite "I heard" instead of "I agree with you". Actually, the meaning of the word "yes" is very rich. In addition to the above two, there is also "Yes" in "I understand this problem" and "Yes" in "I will consider it". The expression of "no" is also very complicated. The values of some cultures are against confrontation, so people generally don't say "no" directly, but use some vague words to express their refusal.
For example, Brazilians use "different things" instead of "impossible". If inexperienced negotiators take it literally, they will waste time and delay the negotiation process. So we must try our best to understand each other's culture, values and customs. Only in this way can we transmit and receive information correctly. In order to avoid misunderstanding, we can use interpretation to ensure smooth communication. Interpretation is to explain each other's words in our own words and ask each other if our understanding is correct. For example, the other party said, "If you can modify your specifications, we will accept it privately." We can say, "If I understand you correctly, what you really mean is that if we improve the product according to your requirements, you agree to accept our price." Another advantage of doing this is that it can deepen the impression of the other party on this issue.
Finally, another way to ensure smooth communication is to make a summary before the end of the negotiation, repeat the agreements reached so far, and ask the other party for approval. The summary must be practical and realistic, and the words must be appropriate, otherwise the other party will be suspicious, not recognize the summary, and say the discussed issues again.