International Negotiations: My favorite B school class

It's the beginning of Module D; the beginning of my international negotiations class and the Action Project.  Not only am I starting new classes and project in school, but I'm starting them in a completely foreign to me place: Shanghai. The international negotiations class has been quite eye-opening.  How has it taken me this long to learn about negotiation techniques when I could be putting them into practice every day?? Well if you're thinking the same thing right now, here are three lessons that stood out so far.

First Lesson: Be prepared.
The best way to prevent walking away screwed over is to be prepared.  Figure out what the target price is, how far you’ll go, your walk-away point and your BATNA. To get to this point, you need to do some research and ask a lot of questions. This tip reminds me of the point made in class called “Save face” – the Chinese expression for “ask questions,” be curious. Especially when you’re with another person, it’s really helpful for both people to understand how far you’re willing to go.

Second Lesson: Be Knowledgable.
This lesson may seem VERY obvious, but it is valid. It’s hard to be a strong, confident, successful negotiator when you do not know or understand the terms and value of the item or issue being negotiated. For example, I now know I should do a lot more research on the products I’m interested in before I even enter the market. With this understanding I will be able to assess the value of the item on my own. I will not have to rely on others to tell me if something is a good deal or highly valuable.

Third Lesson: Be reasonable.

This lesson definitely resonated the most.  After two classes, reading and plenty of in class practice, my friends and I decided to check out the famous fake market. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! The last stall we stopped at, we told the guy that we wanted "big, nice bags." We follow him up a maze of escalators, elevators, and hallways until we reach a dark, hot room.  Since this was highly secretive the sales people did not want us in there for too long. I found two designer bags; a simple tote and a beautifully made leather bag, and I offer a price - 200 RMB (knowing very well that this was too low, but thinking it couldn’t hurt to start low).  She looks at me, mutters, takes the bags from me, and puts them back.  Then she tells us to leave.   

I was shocked, stunned. No counter offer? No negotiating? After reflecting on the incident, I realize there could be many reasons she was annoyed.  But, I did learn that it’s important to be reasonable! Negotiate within an agreeable zone.  If you’re the first to make an offer, be very thoughtful about the anchor. You will show respect, understanding, and smarts when you negotiate reasonable and thus, you're much more likely to come to an agreement.   

My take-away from this experience is that anything can happen in a negotiation, there’s a lot of acting involved, and one shouldn’t take things personally! I need to remember to separate myself from my interests, reduce the possibility of being caught off guard by being prepared, and understand the situation. 

Our recommended reading for preparation for the course was Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher.  

It's a great, quick, to the point read.  From there, it's practice, practice, practice!