Negotiation Stage 4: Trading

This is the part of negotiation that people think of 'the real negotiation'. The preliminaries are over. The proposal and counter-proposal is stated concessions demanded and given and movement towards agreement takes place.

In this phase, the following processes occur:

• Testing position
• Dealing with concessions
• Breaking deadlocks
• Moving towards agreement

Now it’s time to trade ‘I will do…, and in return you do…' to '...are we in agreement?’

Never give anything for free (even if valueless to you). Everything should be ‘traded’.

Be persistent in asking for that which matters most to you, summarise frequently and as each part is mutually agreed, write it down, signal it as a success, and then move onto the next point.

If you need to reject a possible trade, do so clearly and concisely.

If you hesitate, they will persist.

However, rejecting a trade is more likely to be acceptable if you offer a counter-trade. Persist with this stage until the best possible outcome has been identified.