Negotiation strategies that make money

Have you ever been in a difficult negotiation where you did something or reacted to something in the heat of the moment and regretted it not long after? Perhaps you overreacted and said something or did something that was absolutely irrational? Later on you and those around you wondered what had just happened. The consequences might have been terrible, a missed opportunity perhaps? You were hijacked by your emotions and reacted in an irrational outburst. Such outbursts can have substantial damage to your reputation, career and negotiation outcome. It is therefore important to understand what is occurring to our brains in these situations and how to be in charge of these amygdala hijacks. The term ‘amygdala hijack’ was created by Daniel Goleman who has written many books on emotional intelligence. The emotional part of our brain is the amygdala where our fight or flight response resides. When we are under threat our body is flooded with stress hormones and the amygdala reacts i...

In 2015, Arnott’s biscuits, Australia’s largest biscuit manufacturer, owned by Campbell Soup Co., announced a 10% price increase of most of their products. Coles Supermarkets did not accept the price increase and labelled it as unjustified. Both parties were not willing to negotiate and consequently Arnott’s stopped supplying Coles with their products.  This standoff lasted for two weeks and Coles eventually accepted some price increases on some of the products but not on all of them. Coles and Arnott’s went from an initial ‘non-negotiable’ to a ‘negotiable’ position and the two parties continue to do business together. The two parties do need each other, Arnott’s is an iconic brand and their products can’t be missing in supermarket shelves; and Coles is one of Arnott’s major customers. Initially both parties displayed their egos which resulted in a standoff. When both parties use their ego in a negotiation it becomes counterproductive and sabotages the negotiat...