Doing Research On People You Negotiate With

When preparing for a negotiation you will usually know the name of the person you are going to be negotiating with.

If however you don’t know, make sure you find out as this is an extremely important step of any negotiation.

Researching The Negotiator

Once you have found the negotiator’s name, the next step is to find out as much as you can about that person. An excellent place to start is on the Internet. Google will give you the best results, so it’s best to start there.

Unfortunately however not all negotiators will be found on Google, especially if they are a relatively new negotiator or you are doing a low level negotiation.

So if you can’t find the bio of the person you will be negotiating with on the Internet, then it may indicate that they are relatively inexperienced in negotiations.

However don’t assume this to be the case every time, as sometimes negotiating with people at the bottom of the corporate ladder can be tough because they are trying to impress and make a name for themselves.

So if you are experienced at negotiations, use that experience to your advantage but don’t become complacent.

A more accurate way to determine how skilled a negotiator someone is, is to ask people who have already negotiated with them.

This could include friends, business associates, competitors or even cold calling to find out the information you need.

Negotiation Research Topics

The more you can find out about the person you will be negotiating with, the smoother your negotiation will go.

Below you shall find some ideas on what sort of information you should try to obtain about a negotiator, when doing research for an upcoming business negotiation.

When you collect this information, try to keep it organised so that you can refer to it when needed.

General Information

Before any business negotiation you should know the name of the person you will be negotiating with, the company they work for, how long they have been there and their position within that company.

If you can, also find out about their family, children, hobbies and any other interests they may have.

Corporate Environment

Try to find out what company policies will apply to the type of negotiation you will be having. Are there any time constraints involved or pressures from the negotiators workplace?

Does the negotiator have to consult with senior level members before making a final decision?

Authority

Ideally you should know what the negotiator has the power to do. What can they agree to by themselves without having to ask someone else for approval?

If you don’t know, call them on the phone and ask if they have to check with anyone else before they close the deal.

Are there any incentives for the negotiator if they save money? How is the negotiator compensated? What will motivate them to get a result for this negotiation?

What is the negotiators attitude towards you? What is the company’s attitude towards the negotiator? What are the negotiators goals?

Additional Information

Do you know anyone who has made similar deals with this negotiator in the past? If not, can you find someone?

What do other people have to say about this negotiator? What is your overall opinion of this negotiator?

Keep Your List Updated

It is absolutely vital to keep up-to-date information for negotiations, and to have this information organised and available when you need it.

If you negotiate with someone on a regular basis, you may notice that they start the conversation by asking about your family and personal life.

Whilst this is done to create rapport, these questions are also designed to make sure they have up-to-date information on you. So use this tactic whenever you can.