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negotiation topics in business

What are Negotiation Topics in Business?

Negotiation topics in business may include anything from international negotiations to mediating office disputes. Here are some of the topics you may regularly encounter.

From agreements to anchors to preparation to determining the best way to dress, negotiation topics in business cover a lot of ground. One of the most important negotiation topics in business is about creating value throughout the negotiation process. 

We often approach negotiations with the assumption that the pie of resources is fixed, a mindset that leads us to interpret most competitive situations as purely win-lose.

It’s true that a small percentage of negotiations are distributive—that is, parties are restricted to making claims on a fixed resource, such as the price of a rug at a bazaar. However, in most business negotiations, many more issues than price are involved, such as delivery, service, financing, bonuses, timing, and relationships.

Another of the more important negotiation topics in business is that of your best alternative to a negotiated agreement, or BATNA. Your BATNA allows you to leverage your position at the bargaining table. The more appealing your best alternative is, the more comfortable you will feel asking for more in your current negotiation—secure in the knowledge that you have a good option waiting in the wings.

If you and your negotiating counterpart have thoroughly explored your interests and options, there’s no shame in walking away from a deal that doesn’t meet your interests as well as your BATNA does—in fact, it’s the right thing to do.

You can download a complimentary copy of our special report, Business Negotiation Strategies: How to Negotiate Better Business Deals, right now! Discover how to boost your power at the bargaining table in this free special report, from Harvard Law School.

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In Business Negotiations, Dress the Part

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

Negotiators involved in high-stakes mergers and acquisitions typically come to the table armored in meticulously tailored apparel and designer shoes. But as Dana Mattioli reports in a recent Wall Street Journal negotiation topics in business article, those who are trying to woo business from an apparel company often end up dressing down at the bargaining … Read In Business Negotiations, Dress the Part

Negotiation Topics in Business: Make a Bump Plan

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

Regrouping from the cancellation of the 2004–2005 season due to failed labor negotiations, National Hockey League (NHL) teams and players faced the challenge of radically restructuring their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in July 2005. The new CBA instituted a uniform cap (as well as a floor) on team payrolls. It also set maximums and minimums … Read Negotiation Topics in Business: Make a Bump Plan