By Mark Jankowski

Negotiations occur at a variety of different levels within every organization.  As advertising and marketing professionals, you are faced with the challenging task of serving as a business partner to both your internal and external customers.  The ability to communicate and negotiate effectively with your own teams is as important to the success of your business as your ability to negotiate with your organization’s top clients.  You should never forget that at the heart of every successful negotiation – whether you are negotiating PR placement, product pitches or personnel policies – there should be an unwavering commitment to build and strengthen the new or existing relationship.

As competitive as today’s business environment is, the value of long-term relationships absolutely can not be underestimated.  Throughout my 30 years in business, I have negotiated countless deals – ranging from real estate acquisitions to corporate mergers, from product endorsement deals to television broadcast contracts, and from settling symphony orchestra strikes to completing contracts for professional athletes. Throughout the course of every negotiation, I have tried to maintain and build valuable relationships that not only result in mutually beneficial agreements but, more importantly, lead to future deals.
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By Mark Jankowski

In this second part, of a three-part series on SNI’s Systematic Approach, The Three Ps, we will take a closer look at the 2^nd “P” – Probe.

Negotiation would be easy if we could simply ask a single question such as “What do you want?” and the other side provided us with all of the information we needed.  Of course, that seldom happens.  That is why it is vital to be ready to “probe and probe again” until you obtain the information you need.  Instead of making a single probe and then going to propose, we urge participants to “probe and probe again.”

Recently, we heard from a banker who specialized in real estate loans.  He had a borrower that did not want to put up collateral for a loan.  Rather than battling over the position of whether the borrower should provide the necessary collateral, the banker “probed and probed again” with questions like:
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By Mark Jankowski

Preparation is the only aspects of negotiation over which you have complete control…

Many people view negotiation as an event – haggling or trading offers at the bargaining table.  If you want to be an effective negotiator, that view must change.  Remember, negotiation is a process – not an event.

Over the years, I have worked with my partner, Ron Shapiro, to develop a systematic approach to the negotiation process.  It’s called The 3 P’s – Prepare, Probe and Propose.  It is this systematic approach which lies at the heart of the negotiation philosophy – “The Power of Nice. ®” The realization that the best way to get what you want is to help the other side get what they want.
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By Mark Jankowski

In past articles, we have taken a look at our systematic approach to the negotiation process – The Three Ps – and discussed the first and second “P” “Prepare” and “Probe.”  Now it is finally time to sit down at the negotiating table and make a deal.  After all, this is what you have been working towards.  Creative, profitable and effective proposals utilize thorough preparation and in-depth probing techniques. In the final analysis, any proposal will only be as good as the negotiator’s preparation and probing.

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By Mark Jankowski

Listening is an odd topic. Except for those of us with a condition that physically prevents us from hearing, we all know how to “listen”. Yet, in general, very few of us listen well. We fail to listen when we negotiate even though we know that it will help further our cause. In negotiations, the best way to get what you want is to help them get what they want. The only way to know what they want is to listen. As a bonus, sometimes all that the other side is really looking for is to be listened to. So, we see that we can become more effective negotiators, simply by being more effective listeners.

Being a more effective listener is not an easy task. The Wall Street Journal has reported that most people speak at a rate of 120 – 150 words per minute. While that may sound fast, the human brain can process more than 500 words per minute. One would conclude that people would then be excellent listeners, but the fact of the matter is that the extra bandwidth is ruining us. We have extra capacity, so we try to utilize it by multitasking. This comes in the form of talking on the phone while we’re driving or eating while we’re working. Short-term, we may accomplish more, but in the long run, the need for repetition and rework is costing us time.
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by Mark Jankowski

Often participants in our programs voice the following frustration: “How can you possibly achieve a Win-Win result when times are tough?  When the other economy is growing tighter each day, isn’t it that much tougher to be an effective negotiator?”  I believe the most effective negotiators are able to use their skills, both when they have the leverage and things are looking up as well as when they don’t and things appear to heading south. In order to be more effective when challenging times are presenting themselves, I suggest the following:
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