China negotiatiors are coming under more and more pressure to ‘deliver the goods’ and negotiate good deals that improve profit margins or lower costs. But as the global economy slows down, managers involved in negotiations in China are find it harder and harder to get the terms their bosses want to see. Business is getting more and more competitive, and many companies believe that they can negotiate their way to success by aggressive behavior. This may have worked a few months ago — but now negotatiors in China know that they have to do more than bang the table and wait for other side to give in.
Negotiation is a skill, just like any other. It can be anayzed, taught, practiced and improved. Many HR departments and purchasing managers have passed over negotiation training in the past — but now they should look again. Nothing boosts a training department’s ROI like a good negotiation course that helps purchasers and sellers start adding to the bottom line right away.
Shanghai negotiations often include a variety of stakeholders, cultures and languages, so the chance of miscommunication and misunderstanding is high. One of the first things that a good China negotiation class should teach is how to set good, measurable goals that both sides can agree on. Vague or diverging goal systems are a leading cause of problems for negotiatiors in China.
