Deadlock is a "hurdle" in business negotiations. Only those who cross this hurdle are brilliant negotiators. The two sides avoid differences and seek common ground. Only by giving to each other and finding the same acceptance point can we complete business cooperation and achieve satisfactory results.
I. Types and Causes of Negotiation Deadlock is a serious situation in negotiation. Whether it is handled properly or not will directly affect the negotiation process, and then affect the negotiation results. Therefore, we should first understand and analyze the causes of the deadlock so as to take corresponding countermeasures. Deadlock is not a dead end. Negotiations that start from deadlock and die from deadlock are mainly because the negotiations themselves are not feasible.
It has three characteristics:
First, the objective conditions for holding negotiations are not available. In some negotiations, objectively, the other party does not have the conditions for performance, or although it can temporarily perform the contract, it cannot achieve the purpose of negotiation. With the deepening of the negotiations, the original ambiguities became clear one by one, negotiators lost trust in each other, and the negotiations reached a deadlock, which eventually led to the breakdown of the negotiations.
Second, negotiations are worthless. Inadequate preparation before negotiation and inadequate feasibility analysis. It takes a lot of time to find labor in bargaining. Even if you bite the bullet and sign a contract, it is not worth the loss or the loss. Enthusiasm for negotiation suddenly declined. First, I was in a dilemma, then the strong man broke his wrist and suspended the negotiations.
Third, there is no negotiation area. There are three general quotations in commodity trading, namely, it is possible to clinch a deal, it is difficult to clinch a deal and it is impossible to clinch a deal. If the seller's reserve price is much higher than the buyer's reserve price, and both sides firmly adhere to their psychological bottom line, then there will never be a transaction area in the negotiation. After fierce bargaining, the two sides found that the agreement had no possibility of success, that is, when the deadlock turned into a dead end. Therefore, before the negotiations between the two sides, we must first get rid of the infeasible negotiations and turn the deadlock into a dead-end negotiation, so as to avoid paying ineffective labor. From the practice of business negotiation, many negotiations are deadlocked because of subjective factors based on feelings, positions, opinions and principles.
First, the strategic deadlock. That is, one side of the negotiation consciously creates deadlock, puts pressure on the other side, buys time for itself and creates advantages.
Second, emotional deadlock. That is, during the negotiation, one side's remarks aroused the other side's antipathy, the conflict escalated, and there was a situation of acrimony and intransigence.
Third, substantive deadlock. That is, when the core of commercial transactions-economic interests are involved in the negotiation process, the gap between the two sides is large and it is difficult to reach an agreement. Both sides hold their own opinions and do not give in to each other, which will lead to a substantive deadlock.
Second, the solution to the strategic deadlock For the strategic deadlock, the focus is mainly on exposure. If the other party's mystery is seen through, the other party's move will fail. Immature negotiators will shake their confidence when they encounter deadlock, and frustration will make them feel psychological pressure, confusion and doubt their own judgment. Psychologists' experiments show that when they are deadlocked, the weak often feel depressed and afraid of being isolated. In order to make a good relationship, I am afraid of losing harmony with each other, and then I am at a loss or even wronged to make peace, losing the established principles and the original bottom line. It is based on this consideration that the party that caused the deadlock implemented the strategy. The main methods to deal with the strategic deadlock are:
First, appropriate concessions should be soft. The purpose of each other's conscious stalemate is often to test our strength, determination and sincerity. In this case, if the other party's asking price is within our allowable range, we might as well appear as the weak, repeatedly state our position, views and sincerity, and make some small concessions to satisfy the other party's vanity. "Giving face" is the most basic means to break the deadlock.
The second is to stick to principles and play hardball. For those who get the preferential conditions and want to gouge out another piece of meat, there is no other way but to stick to the principle and be tough when their bottom line has run out. It should be noted that the other side is using deadlock as a strategy and does not want to interrupt the negotiations and return in vain. American negotiator John Winkler said, "When you create a deadlock, it must be when they are interested in what you want them to do, otherwise they will ignore you." At that time, it was necessary to negotiate between Lu, director of Hangzhou Universal Joint Factory, and Lyle, manager of the international department of a company in Ohio, USA: the United States proposed to sell the products of Universal Joint Factory exclusively in the world. Otherwise, stop providing technology, capital, equipment, market information and substitute engineers. If you don't agree, pack up and leave! Qiu Guan's answer is "Help yourself! Welcome your company to come back at any time to continue cooperation! " Later, when China entered more European and Asian markets, the situation was not good. The representative of the United States apologized for bringing a lifelike bronze eagle as a gift and sincerely said, "The eagle is the symbol of the United States of America. We admire Mr. Lu's courage, shrewdness and tenacity. May our industry soar in the world like an eagle! " Of course, deadlock is impossible to avoid completely. Once we encounter a strategic deadlock, we should break the other side gently, let the other side know that we are not idiots, we are "fire-fighters", "know" its purpose, and try our best to break the deadlock rationally and honorably.
Third, the solution to the emotional deadlock For the emotional deadlock, it is mainly from the perspective of avoidance, trying to eliminate misunderstandings and unblock roadblocks. Emotional deadlock is often caused by the intense atmosphere between the two sides in business negotiations. Most of them are caused by improper words and expressions. For example, in a price negotiation, one party blurted out, "The price is too high, you simply want money!" The other party immediately retorted, "Then the price you offered is unheard of. Do you want me to give it to you for nothing! " If you don't agree, leave at once Emotions can't replace principles, and emotions can't bring benefits. The two sides of the negotiation came to seek common interests, and fighting in anger hindered the negotiation process of the other side. After all, this is contrary to the original intention and purpose of both sides. We should ask ourselves and reflect, and both sides should continue. This foothold determines the main way to resolve the emotional deadlock.
First, suspend the meeting and wait for reflection. During the negotiation, the two sides had a dispute over a certain issue, with sharp contradictions, escalating tone of voice, losing control of emotions, turning the cold war into a hot war, a covert war into an open war, and a discussion of the issue into a personal attack. Therefore, they should negotiate in time to adjourn and disengage. Repair the mentality, use time to buffer and adjust the out-of-control psychology to change the atmosphere and avoid the deadlock becoming a dead end.
The second is to assess the situation and change people in time. Generally speaking, there should be no substitution in the middle of the negotiation. However, due to the sudden change of the situation, the emotional damage of the negotiators can not be completely repaired. When one party no longer trusts the other, it is necessary to replace the negotiators in time. Solve the deadlock by replacing people, and open the deadlock. There are precedents in sports competitions and political negotiations. Business negotiation can also be used in due course. Party A is not allowed to make mistakes because of the other party's personality, human rights, living habits or national political beliefs; Apologize or even review in time. If the other party is still dissatisfied, it is necessary to replace the former representative.
IV. Resolution of Substantive Deadlock For the substantive deadlock, we should eliminate contradictions and differences from the perspective of understanding, narrow the distance and bring the negotiations back to normal channels. American scholars Roger Fisher and William Yury believe that negotiation is to seek the interests of both sides and reach an agreement based on value, rather than making a final decision through blind bargaining. When the interests of both sides conflict, we should stick to some objective criteria to make decisions, rather than the competition of willpower between the two sides. We should separate people from problems; Focus on interests rather than positions; The proposed scheme should be beneficial to each other; Adhere to objective standards. In short, people have emotions, needs and opinions. Negotiations between individuals should be based on objective reality rather than subjectivity. Generally speaking, we should start from three aspects: viewpoint, emotion and negotiation. That is, when the other party's point of view is incorrect, look for opportunities for him to correct it; If the other person is too excited, you should give some understanding; When misunderstanding occurs, we should try our best to strengthen communication between the two sides. Therefore, there are roughly the following solutions to the substantive deadlock: first, treat it sincerely and persuade it patiently. Modern market has entered the era of relationship marketing. Business transactions are increasingly based on interpersonal relationships. People are always willing to do business with people they know and trust. Business rivals, private friends. "Business cannot be benevolent". The most important thing to gain trust is to be honest with others. When the negotiation is deadlocked, the other party can be persuaded, reminded and guided by some convincing information such as market conditions, product quality and after-sales guarantee. As long as we treat each other honestly, patiently persuade and get along honestly and reasonably, then we believe that the other side will make corresponding concessions, consider our immediate ideas realistically and make appropriate adjustments, and the deadlock will naturally disappear. Second, look before you leap, seeking common ground while reserving differences. For major differences involving the economic interests of both sides, they will often encounter great obstacles in the process of advancing, and they will be deadlocked if they are not careful. Therefore, many actual negotiators adopt the circular logic method suitable for bargaining: if the other party threatens you on price, negotiate with it on quality instead; If the other party demands a lot of quality from you, talk to them about service instead. If the other party is critical of your service, talk about the terms; If the other party forces you to talk about terms, then talk about price. Practice has proved that this is an effective circuitous tactic in the deadlock. The style of a clever negotiator is to beat around the bush. A clever negotiator can always think repeatedly in the deadlock and find the key to solving the problem. When Kissinger recalled the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, he and Premier Zhou Enlai spent 25 hours discussing the world situation and 65,438+05 hours negotiating a joint statement. "We need to find a model that recognizes the reunification of China without giving up our current relationship. Finally, the issue of Taiwan Province Province is expressed as follows: The United States recognizes that all China people on both sides of the Taiwan Province Province believe that there is only one China. The US government does not object to this position. " The two negotiators made witty and principled speeches on this major issue of Taiwan Province Province, which made a major breakthrough in the negotiations. The third is to calmly fight and pre-empt. Before reaching a deadlock, one side of the negotiation often uses an ultimatum to force the other side to submit. At this time, we might as well listen more and talk less, ask more and answer less, look on coldly and fight calmly. Take the strategy of attacking the enemy from behind, and don't come up with a killer weapon until the critical moment. When the time comes, you can often win with one blow. When a representative of an American company bought an oxygen-free copper main engine combined furnace from one of our cable factories, the quotation dropped from $2.2 million and $6.5438 +0.5 million to $6.5438 +0.3 million. Seeing that the Chinese representative still refused to sign the contract, he roared: "You are insincere, stop it!" Our representative said, "Why talk about sincerity at such a high price? We don't want to talk about it anymore. " Seeing that China was unmoved, the other side sat down to negotiate and gave an ultimatum: "6,543,800 yuan+0.2 million yuan, no more!" As a result, the negotiations broke down. The United States took out the booked air tickets and held a farewell party with China. At this time, the Chinese representative showed his opponent the information of the combined furnace that the United States sold to Spain for 950 thousand dollars two years ago. "This was two years ago, and now the price has naturally gone up." The us side exclaimed. "no!" The representative of China retorted. "The inflation index is 6% per year. According to this calculation, the price is 1.067 million US dollars. " The representative of the United States was dumbfounded at this time. I didn't expect China to have this skill. Finally, it was sold at $654.38 +0.07 million. Practice has proved that the deadlock in negotiations exists objectively. You can't completely avoid it and don't panic. As long as we carefully analyze the root causes of the deadlock and then take flexible and targeted measures to solve it, we can save the day. Once the deadlock is broken, the deal will be reached soon.