Negotiating for life

Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all negotiators. Some of us may not do it on a professional level, dealing with mergers and big contracts; but we all have a least one negotiation a day: either where to have dinner or which movie to go see at the theater. We all have the skills for it, it is natural and we actually do not stop to think about it while we are in the process of it. But some people do – and they do it as professionally as possible.

Marci Ducat is one of them. A journalist and partner of PR company Página 1 Comunicação, located in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, she has over 20 years of experience in the market, a MBA in marketing and management and a lot of negotiations in her career. From deals with partners, to daily negotiations with one of her 32 employees about salaries, projects, deadlines; and also all the contracts with the company’s clients, Ducat deals with all the steps of preparation and the outcome of a negotiation on a regular basis.                

         

I talked to her about some of the main stages of preparation for a negotiation, the desired outcome and how she looks for mutual benefit in the process. About separating the people from the problem, for example, a situation more common than most of us realize, she said: “I try to put myself in the person shoes and look away from their personality. I try to understand what their interests are and how can I contribute to them, so we both can get what we want out of it”.

         

Ducat made clear how important it is to stay away from bargaining and dwelling on positions, since she values the relationships the most. In some cases, she said, she would settle for less profit, thinking about the future of a strong relationship with the other party: a strategic client to the company’s portfolio, or another asset the negotiation can grant her. She points out: “that’s perfect mutual benefit. I might not get exactly what I was looking for in a number figure, but I have a strategic partner on the way out that can give me good publicity, for example; and the other side spent the money they were willing to. It’s a win-win”.  

         

What about your BATNA? Ducat says she always has her BATNA figured it out and ready to go, in case the negotiation does not go as she was hoping for. But she rarely discloses it. “If you know what your BATNA is, the ideal is to lead the negotiation so you can get a better deal than that, but with the reassurance you have a plan B, just in case”, she concluded.