Collaboration and Teamwork
Negotiations are an integral part of our everyday life. Indeed, the exercise has been an eye-opener on how businesses operate, deals are made, and people interact to accomplish a common goal. Additionally, the commercial estate negotiation process allowed me to network with other clients and prospective business leaders from the beginning. I managed to understand what I wanted to gain from the negotiation process. Knowing my needs and preferences made it easy to spearhead the negotiation process and control the proceedings. In today's business environment, most real estate clients seek office properties that offer third spaces. As such, they can engage, retain, and give their employees a conducive working environment. This trend has forced business owners to find business spaces that provide home amenities and values, such as on-site entertainment and free parking. Keeping that in mind, I learned that I had to be well prepared and anticipate any variation from the negotiation process, especially due to the current trends in the real estate market.
A professional approach is critical to becoming a great negotiator. While preparing for the negotiation, I conducted thorough research on the property and the whole process. André (2017) agrees that determining issues resulting from the negotiation is critical to formulating better strategies. I was keen to find out more information about the negotiation process in general and possible solutions to common challenges. An overlooked aspect of negotiation is communication and teamwork. In every negotiation, people must communicate effectively and express their preferences, terms and conditions, and arguments. I learned that the key to a successful negotiation process is satisfaction from both parties. While each group can present different terms, the outcome should be balanced. However, a significant takeaway from such collaborative negotiations is to understand what the other party values. Providing the value will present a better opportunity to seal the negotiation.
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Achieving collaboration and a fair agreement during negotiation mandates effective communication. I learned that embracing a relationship as part of the negotiation process is significant in creating value while seeking equity. While the traditional negotiation process always ended up in a win-lose situation, a more collaborative approach to negotiation expands the expectations and creates a win-win situation through value addition. Moreover, collaboration and teamwork during a real estate negotiation convert each party's issues into a single problem that can be solved collectively. In the long run, transparency and trust are fostered. Moving forward, I will embrace a collaborative approach, depict leadership characteristics, and promote open communication to eliminate any suspicion or deceptive negotiation practices.
Ethics Dimension in Negotiation
Understanding the knowledge on ethics and negotiations can be very helpful when preparing and conducting an actual negotiation. Negotiators must be cautious about any deceptive plans from their peers as they can jeopardize the whole process. For instance, while at the bargaining table, one party can withhold information critical to the real estate purchase. Holding back such a piece of data can lead to integrity issues and damaging the relationship. While strong relationships lead to better negotiation deals, trust is paramount to solidifying such relationships. Building trust among business people takes time, and negotiations do not take that much time. As such, most negotiators take a cautious approach when at the bargaining table. Delineating the risk-taking approach to negotiation will explore the intricacies and uncertainties encompassing short-term relationships and building trust throughout the negotiation process.
Universality and reciprocity are ethical dimensions that should be integrated into any negotiation process. As each party in the negotiation process takes a cautious approach, they should embrace ethics and demonstrate morality towards each other. For instance, each party should treat the other as they expect others to treat them. In practice, real estate agents must abide by the code of ethics set to guide the buying and selling of property. The code mandates them to protect the client's best interest and be honest throughout the negotiation period. Honesty and integrity are fundamental elements of strong relationships. In the long run, such relationships can help build networks, lead to more referrals, and secure better business deals. However, honesty cannot be achieved without communication and collaboration.
Real estate agents are also refrained from making any false accusation or statements while on the negotiation table. In his article on real estate negotiation strategies, author L'Eplattenier (2020) acknowledged that the best way to achieve a better outcome during a negotiation is to identify value-creating moves that could lead to a win-win situation. These values must conform to ethics in negotiation, ensuring that no false statements are made to deceive the other party. Simultaneously, approaching the negotiation from a win-win perspective will help instill trust and honesty in the other counterpart. A real estate agent should be truthful about the entire process and any value-creating moves without misleading the other party from an ethical perspective. For instance, it is unethical to inform the buyer that there are other offers, yet none are available.
Positions versus Interests
Power in negotiation is relative and can take many forms. From the exercise, the other negotiating team had the power to control the negotiation process. Since the seller had many offers from other interested parties, the team had the power to set the price and take charge of the bargaining process. Regardless of whether a negotiator uses BATNA or another negotiation strategy, a powerful negotiator is more inclined to behave proactively (Ouali et al., 2017). The party is in a better position to negotiate the offer rather than accept it immediately. The team that demonstrated power in the negotiation process made the first offer, giving them a bargaining advantage over the other party. Additionally, the powerful team was more persistent in presenting a counteroffer when the opposing t[arty made a different offer.
The use of
power in negotiations leads to integrative negotiations, where both sides collaborate to find a beneficial solution for each party. This approach depends on each party finding the interests and needs of the other party and working towards fulfilling them. A common misconception in negotiation is that power can be used to mislead the entire process. However, those who present power from the onset cannot be easily manipulated by deceptive real estate agents. In the negotiation exercise, power versus interests was used to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Reflecting on emotion and control as elements of a negotiation strategy will lead to better interest-based bargaining agreements.
A critical skill all-powerful negotiators should exhibit perspective-taking. In essence, a negotiator should understand the other person's perspective, allowing them to formulate better bargaining strategies that lead to a win-win situation. During the negotiation process, one party demonstrated the power and how negative it can impact the negotiation process. More specifically, powerful negotiators fail to incorporate the other party's perspective on the situation, overlooking their needs and preferences. However, when combined with perspective taking, power in negotiation can play a significant role in achieving interest-based outcomes. If the powerful negotiator takes time to understand the other person's viewpoint, they can harness its benefits, including making the first offer and using value-creating strategies. Ultimately, the perspective-taking skills mitigates any risks associated with negative negotiation behaviors.
References
André, D. M. B. V. (2017). Negotiation framework in Cascais real estate market (Doctoral dissertation).
L'Eplattenier, E. (2020). 17 top real estate negotiation strategies from the pros . The Close. https://theclose.com/real-estate-negotiation/
Ouali, L. O., Sabouret, N., & Rich, C. (2017). A computational model of power in collaborative negotiation dialogues. In International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents (pp. 259-272). Springer, Cham.
