Nearly all negotiators greatly underrate the time required to plan for any business negotiation even though this is a critical part of business negotiation best practice.

Using your negotiation skills to analyse the negotiation environment is a great place to start preparing for negotiations.

Some of the key elements to consider are:

- What is the nature of the transaction in terms of risks involved, the level of expenditure and the difficulty of the transaction?

- Competitive analysis: What is the nature of the market and what options do our counterparties have at their disposal? We will approach a sole supplier in a different way than those in a competitive market.

- Is it a single deal or should we think about securing a long-term positive association that develops alternatives for future trade?

- Have we concluded any transactions with the other side in the past and what is their most likely method to doing business?

- How skilled are the negotiators on the other side of the table?

- What cultures will be present and what are the local traditions?

- Who are all the groups & persons involved in the negotiation and what is the decision process? A diversified tactic is needed as final decision makers will certainly be interested in Return on Investment and augmented revenues & margins. The end user who looks for better output and efficiency will find the financial elements almost completely immaterial.

Almost any negotiation training course will highlight the importance of setting formal deal objectives.

If we fail to plan and rank our deal objectives we put ourselves at risk of being manipulated and/or ending with a sub-optimal conclusion. Whether you are involved in negotiation on the sales or purchasing side, consider the following elements when planning for a negotiation:

- Price and payment, Key responsibilities, Delivery, Warranties, Intellectual property and Risks.

Price and Payments: The competition and the difficulty of most business transactions demand finding methods to develop additional value and to move negotiation from positional bargaining to mutually beneficial and creative joint problem solving. Professional buyers are not charged with getting the most affordable solution but rather with securing their businesses with the cheapest total cost of ownership, which is made up of things like:

- Purchase price, Maintenance costs, The cost of use, Support costs, Supplier performance criteria, Delivery, Quality and Client Support. (These concepts are covered in most purchasing training programmes).

If we are able to reduce our counterpart's costs in the entire life cycle of the product, solution or service and simultaneously provide value for money, we are in a better position to find common ground.

Key Obligations: Make sure your product and services are defined and show your priorities. Include all the relevant quantities and specifications.

Delivery: How key are the delivery timelines and what happens if the delivery doesn't take place as agreed?

Warranties: In order to preserve trust and credibility ensure that you can live with any promises.

Intellectual property: Carefully negotiate IP ownership rights and think about the following factors:

- Which party is footing the bill for the Research and Development?

- Could the product development be utilised by competitors to your disadvantage if you don' t own the IP? How can you stop competitors to use the same IP?

Risks: The best way to manage exposure is to include the factors in a written contract. Cultural consideration is critical. In Asian countries the goal of negotiation is not a signed contract. In China, unexpected circumstances are settled through the relationship.

Analysing the above elements are important in preparing Concession Strategies that will help you to leverage maximum value from trades and in planning meetings optimally.

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