The Best Negotiator I Ever Faced Was. . .
You’ll get the hang of it.
The best negotiator I ever faced was Willie Walsh, that was years before he became the Head of British Airways and more recently the Director General of IATA, the global association for the world’s airlines.
You never came away from a negotiation with Willie, thinking you had lost, mostly because at some point during the discussion you would have found yourself helping him argue against your firmly stated position. I don’t mean compromising; I don’t mean backing down or finding a middle ground, I mean actually helping him find and open up the holes in your argument.
Why? because he gently led you metaphorically into his world and encouraged you to be at his side to help him solve the problem or problems that you were bringing into the talks.
At least I think, in retrospect, that was what he did, because at the time you weren’t aware of what was happening and only afterwards as you tried to piece together what had actually happened; questioning why you hadn’t got quite what you had expected and particularly why you felt so good about it despite that, did it become apparent that the outcome had probably been exactly what he had wanted and expected from the beginning.
I can’t pretend to be a skilled negotiator, although much of my entrepreneurial career has centered on negotiation, of sorts, and I certainly can’t pretend to have had anything like the stellar success of Willie, however, when faced with an opponent whose sole tactic was to stubbornly argue, reiterate, defend and justify their position, I have often used a Willie inspired approach, trying to draw them into my world, helping them explore their argument through my eyes and even, sometimes encouraging them to move alongside me on my side of the table or desk to do so. It doesn’t and didn’t always work, but then I don’t have an Irish tone of voice which softly draws a smile out of the most serious of faces or the natural ability to immediately relax someone with an unexpectedly warm of greeting or familiar gesture, but I have worked long and hard on both my voice and body language!
My advice to all budding entrepreneurs who will undoubtably have passion to spare, when talking about their new product or service, but then often couple this with a thinly veiled intolerance for anyone who doesn’t immediately see their point of view, is to “act like a Willie”, stop to think and behave differently. Don’t negotiate against the supplier or buyer who isn’t playing ball, particularly if they are experienced with battle hardened faces, instead encourage them to see a little of your vulnerability and encourage them to negotiate with you by exploring their needs, their viewpoint, their red lines but only to help you both to reach a decision they are happy with, so long as that decision is the one you wanted yourself before you sat down!
Happy negotiating! It may not feel so in the early days, but once you get the hang of it, it can become one of the most effective tools in an entrepreneur’s toolbox.
