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Bringing business negotiations to a successful close requires a suitable approach adapted to the particular situation.
Bringing business negotiations to a close requires special skills and techniques. As no two negotiation situations are alike, it is not possible to recommend any one approach. Negotiators must use their own judgment in selecting the most appropriate method.
A wide range of techniques exist from which to select. The choice will depend on the existing relationship between the parties, the objectives of the negotiations, the cultural environment, the negotiating styles of the participants, the state of discussions, and whether the talks concern new business opportunities or the extension of existing contracts. A description of the better known techniques is given below.
Most common techniques The most frequently used methods for closing negotiations can be referred to as the "alternative," "assumption," "concession," "incremental," "linkage," "prompting," "summarizing," "splitting the difference," "trial" and the "ultimatum/ or else" techniques.
Alternative:
Also known as the "either/or close" technique, in this approach one party makes a final offer consisting of a choice for the other side. For example, one party is willing to lower its commission rate if the other agrees to deliver the goods to the warehouse at its own cost.
Assumption:
With this method the negotiator assumes that the other side is ready to agree and proceed with detailed discussions of delivery dates, payment schedules and so forth. This is a technique used frequently by sellers to rush buyers into agreement. It is a useful approach when the initiating party has more than one option to offer to the other side.
Concession:
This technique is characterized by the negotiator keeping a few concessions in reserve until the end to encourage the other party to come to an agreement. It is particularly effective in situations in which concessions are expected as a sign of goodwill before final agreement is given. These last-minute concessions should not be overly generous; they should however be significant enough to encourage the other party to finalize the talks.
Incremental:
Another approach is for the negotiator to propose agreement on a particular issue and then proceed to settle others until accord is reached on all pending matters. This method is used when the negotiation process follows an...