A real live Case Study with many basic negotiating lessons to learn, understand and then relearn and practise.
The recent failure of England to get beyond the first round of FIFA voting and secure only two votes is an object lesson in how not to influence an agreement / decision. The rather sad behaviour which followed indicated a level of naivety, a lack of knowledge of the process and some very basic failures amongst those in the team who should have known better.
1. Preparation might be Everything. The objective was clear – to win the right to host the World Cup; the chosen strategy was not only defective but wrong. The bid team did not seem to realise that Selling is not the same as Negotiating. Persuasion is only one very small part of negotiating. In fact all the “persuasive” argument about England’s love of the game, the quality of the football stadiums, the experience of the UK in handling events of this size etc. etc. would have been great if they had formed any part of the criteria FIFA was using. The reality is we do not need to sell football to those living in England. The UK is home to many of the World’s top footballers, and our clubs are actively engaged in projects to promote the game all over the Globe. These facts disqualified us from the start.
2. Do not make Assumptions - your objective is unlikely to be theirs. Your sense of rational thought and behaviour will not necessarily be theirs, especially if it does not give them what they want. Wishing things might be different does not make them so. If you find that you are making assumptions, then check them out before finalising your strategy. If the preconceived ideas had been investigated more diligently, England might have saved a lot of time, effort and money.
3. Negotiating is not Selling. This is such a common and basic mistake. Making a sales pitch to persuade the other party that they need what you have to sell can be dangerous if they already know what they want. Selling or to put it another way – telling the other party what they should be wanting, asking for, deciding about, be influenced by, is telling them how to make their decision. It is not only rude, but also insensitive and arrogant in the extreme. Time should have been taken to find out what FIFA wanted. Once known a cost efficient decision could have been made.
4. Gifts send out the wrong signals. If you want to you use sweeteners ask yourself why? It is interesting that when offering “freebies” and “gifts” as part of the “building a relationship” process it says more about you than the other party. You are implying that to do business you need to use forms of inducement. Does this indicate a lack of confidence in what you are offering? Does it suggest you do not know if what you are offering is of interest? Does it teach others that you are in the business of offering unilateral concessions as incentives – not clever, because it will encourage the recipient to say No not Yes.
5. It does not matter how persuasive, slick or professional a presentation might be; if it does not address the other side's interests then it is a waste of effort and time.
6. If you do not know what they want - ASK. Don't assume they won't answer. If you get an answer it may give you the edge against your competition. If asking does not work, try trading for an answer.
7. Do Not Blame The Other Side for Your Failure. There is no point in punishing after the event. If you did not get the answer you wanted then it is your fault. You can only control your behaviour and your thoughts, so better to review your failings quietly in private. Public “sounding off” confirms to the other side that they were right not to enter into an agreement with you and it spreads your reputation as a poor negotiator to the four corners of the universe – not a clever idea.
There are many more lessons arising from this sorry affair. But better to learn them at one of our workshops in confidence and a safe environment.
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