Negotiating as a Team

Many business situations are too complex for a solo negotiator to be fully informed about every aspect of the deal. In such cases, working in a team may give better results, though this requires a high degree of internal coordination and a smooth flow of information between members.

Deciding when to use a team

Some negotiations demand a diverse set of abilities. In addition to sound negotiation and psychosocial skills you may need specific technical expertise, for example, in areas of law, drafting joint ventures, or the planning system. You may need to exercise leverage on your opposite number through the use of PR, or require a keen appreciation of strategy and politics in order to identify the multiple stakeholders in the negotiation and figure out their interests. If you lack any of these abilities, you will probably benefit from the collective wisdom of a team.

Understanding the advantages

There are many benefits to negotiating as a team. Being part of a team provides for multiple creative trade-offs and options and has other advantages, too. Sheer “strength in numbers” makes a team feel secure and powerful and sends a clear message to the other party that you are serious about the deal. You are also likely to feel less pressured when negotiating as a team, and are unlikely to make too many concessions too early in the process.

Avoiding the pitfalls

Working in a team can lead to a lack of focus and consistency, so appoint a chief negotiator to lead your team and agree in advance each member’s roles and responsibilities. Avoid falling into “groupthink,” when team members feel pressured to conform to an existing group mindset and reluctant to present ideas that conflict with it. It can also be easy for a team to create a false sense of cohesiveness: “us,” the good team, versus “them,” the bad team. If this happens, genuine conciliatory attempts made by the other party can be dismissed as dishonest “tricks” and rejected, resulting in missed opportunities to make a deal.

Decision time

Negotiating as a team begs the question of how to decide on a course of action. Broadly, there are three ways to reach a decision: first is unanimity, in which all team members must agree on a given issue. This is a tough rule and not recommended for most situations. Second is the majority rule. The majority will decide and the minority comply with the decision. The hazard here is that the majority may impose a tough solution that the minority cannot live with. The third, and usually best, decision-making rule is consensus: making a decision that not all the team members agree with fully, but that all can live with.