English Business Negotiation Listening Skills and Proposal Response Strategies

So let's look back at our questions before the scenario. Who mentions the price first? Andy does. What is his proposal? $1,200. Is his proposal accepted? No. Does the negotiation seem friendly? I think it does. Just look at a few things that made this negotiation successful. Andy gives all the details in his proposal. He asks if the proposal is okay. Has that sound? Here are some other examples. Does that sound reasonable? Will that work? Trey gives a reason he can't accept the proposal. He offers a counter-proposal. A counter-proposal is a response to a proposal. He can also be called a counter-offer. A person will often comment on the proposal before offering a counter-proposal. Trey reacts to the proposal. He mentions something he agrees to. That makes sense. He mentions something that he's not sure about. Well, that's something I hadn't planned for. And finally, he makes his position clear. He also gives a reason for not accepting the proposal. It's still a little more than we plan to spend. Ideally, we'd like to do this for $800. Andy reacts to Trey's response. Trey, I'm not sure we can go that low.

Notice how all of these sentences leave things open. Trey hasn't said no to Andy's proposal. He's explaining why the proposal is difficult for him to accept. And Andy hasn't said no either. Remember how both Trey and Andy had one price they said and a different price they were thinking? This is often the case when people are negotiating the price. It also happens when we react to a proposal. A person may think one thing, but say something a bit more polite. It keeps the negotiation positive. What you think and what you say are usually not the same thing. Let's look at the sentence we just talked about. Instead of saying that's too much. We can't spend that much. We'll only spend $800. Trey politely says this. It's still a little more than we plan to spend. Ideally, we'd like to do this for $800. Andy doesn't say that's a ridiculous price. I can't do that. He says, I'm not sure we can go that low.

Let's look at some other examples of this. First, let's look at some softeners. You've seen some of these in our other courses. To deliver a negative response, instead of saying, we can't do that, we say, I'm afraid we can't do that. Or unfortunately, that's not possible. Or as Andy said, I'm not sure it will work. See how much nicer those sentences sound with those phrases added? Moles like would and could are also good softeners, as are gentle questions. Here are some better things you could say. Instead of, I don't like that idea. You could say, I would prefer to do this. Could we consider another option? Or what if we did this a little differently? Using a bit or a little also softens a comment that might be negative. Start an opinion with, I think. Using the word might is another way to soften a harsh comment. Instead of, that will be too confusing for our customers. You could say, I think that might be a bit confusing for customers to understand.

Let's look at a few more examples of ways to soften responses to proposals. We have to finish today. We were hoping to finish today. We need delivery right away. Ideally, we'd like to have delivery right away. We want a better discount. Actually, we were expecting a better discount. I don't like the terms. We would prefer different terms. I don't want to include another party. I would rather not include another party. Notice how often we use would or could in the softer sentences. Also, notice the use of the past expressions. We were hoping and we were expecting. These expressions show that the proposal is difficult to accept, but they are not direct rejections of the proposals. The softer sentences leave the negotiation more open. It feels like there is still some flexibility.

Now you try it. Listen to the sentence. This is what the person is thinking. What might they say instead? There are many possible ways to answer this. One suggestion is provided for each idea. We can't accept that price. I'm afraid we can't accept that price. We don't like the schedule. We would prefer a different schedule. I want everything to be included. Actually, I was expecting everything to be included. There's not enough time to do that. Unfortunately, there's not enough time to do that. As you've seen in earlier lessons, how about is a very common way to suggest a new idea or a solution to a problem? I don't know where to have the event. How about Misha's gallery? We can't afford to hire three people. How about hiring one of them part time?

OK, so what happens when the two sides have slightly different proposals? Someone often makes a concession. Concessions are an important part of an negotiation. When you make a concession, you give up something so you can reach an agreement. For example, company A and company B are negotiating and they're having trouble finding agreement on shipping costs. Company A agrees to include the shipping at no cost. This is a concession. It shows willingness to work with the other party, but they'll want something in exchange. During the bargaining part of the negotiation, concessions are both offered and asked for. It's a give and take. Usually you give a little and get a little. Or if you're good at it, you give a little and get a lot. The tone you choose is important. You want to sound confident, but not demanding. You want to sound flexible, but not uncertain.

In negotiations, parties also make compromises. This happens when both sides make concessions to get an agreement. Everyone gives up a little and both sides agree. We would say that they meet halfway or meet in the middle. First, a few guidelines about making or requesting concessions. Then we'll look at the language we can use to talk about concessions. First, figure out beforehand what you can or can't give up in the negotiation. Know your bottom line, the point when you cannot give up anymore. A concession is usually a request for a trade. I'll give you this and you give me that. There are several common ways to express this. One way is to use questions with if. These questions help you sound flexible.

Let's go back to Trey and Andy's negotiation. Notice the different ways Trey uses if. What if one of my guys was there for the afternoon and your boys come later at six? If we did that, would you be willing to come down to $1,000? Here, Trey asks for a concession as a question. He asks for a better price. He's making a counter-proposal. Here are some other examples of questions that make it feel like there is room for discussion. What would you think about ordering both products? I could give you a 5% discount. Would you be open to splitting the difference? Do you think we can compromise on that price? I'd like to suggest a compromise on the price. The pattern that we often use is if, then, like this. If we include the service plan, then we would expect a two-year contract. If you could reduce the price by 2%, then we could increase our order. We can also use other phrases that have the same meaning as if, then. All of the bolded phrases can be replaced with if and have the same meaning. As long as you pay on delivery, then we will give you a 5% discount. So, along with you pay on delivery, then we can give you a 5% discount. Provided you pay on delivery, then we will give you a 5% discount. We can give you a discount on the condition that you pay on delivery.

Let's look at the word unless as part of a concession. It joins a negative clause with a positive one. The unless clause is the condition. Unless you place a larger order, we can't offer that discount. But this language sounds a bit like a threat. It doesn't really belong in a win-win negotiation, at least not in this direct form. More commonly, we use unless to encourage a concession. Let's do two things to make this sound more encouraging. We'll put the unless part last, and then we'll add softeners, like you see in the underlying words. Now we have a much more positive sentence. This sentence presents a new idea that might encourage a concession. I'm afraid we're not able to offer a 10% discount, unless maybe you would consider increasing your order.

Sometimes a company will make a special concession, something they usually don't do. When something isn't common in your business, you want to make it clear that this is a special concession. Here are some ways to express this. We don't usually do this, but I can offer you a special price. Normally, we don't offer training on small orders, but we would be willing to do that. This isn't our normal practice, but we would agree to that.