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The critical negotiation skill required to unlock the best value from complex business negotiation situations is to identify and understand the interests of all the parties affected by or taking part in the negotiation. In some cases, it is easy to understand both the positions & interests of players in the negotiation. In most cases, however, it is not only difficult to identify the interests of stakeholders; it is also difficult to identify all the key players.

How to negotiate in complex, multi-party negotiations?

1. Identify all the participants in the complex negotiation

This may be stating the obvious but in reality, it is often hard to spot and track all the stakeholders in a negotiation. In a commercial environment, we should at least attempt to identify the following stakeholders:

a. Financial stakeholders

These are the people or groups that will finance, support or give consent to reach an agreement based on the financial terms proposed. It is key to uncover all potential parties that may have an interest in the purely financial dimensions of the negotiation.

b. User/consumer stakeholders

These are the people or groups that will implement and support the outcome of the agreement that is reached. These are the stakeholders that will live and work with the result of the negotiations on a day to day basis.

c. Technical & legal stakeholders

These are the individuals or groups that will sign off and agree to the technical and contractual dimensions of the negotiations.

d. Guides/Gurus & other Influencers

These are the people or groups that hold important influence over the key decision makers involved in the negotiation.

2. Identify the interests of each stakeholder in the negotiation

There are basically two methods to identify an individual or group's interest in a commercial negotiation. The first way is to put yourself in that person or group's shoes and to attempt to see things from his/her/their point of view. What supporting information would you require? What precedents would come into play? What assumptions can you make, and validate? The second way is to ask the individual or group a series of questions to assist you (and them) to accurately identify their key interests. The most useful question to ask is "Why?" "Why is this negotiation important to you? Why are you assuming this position? Why are these options being explored?"

3. Create a frame that is appropriate for each stakeholder

Having identified the interests of each participant, you should now shape the appropriate frame. Different people take decisions for different reasons. It is not useful to highlight the same points to support decision making to all participants. You should focus on communicating the most appropriate frame to each stakeholder or potential participant.

4. Create an effective management structure for the negotiation

If our counter parties think of us as rational, the odds are significantly increased that they will also react to us in a rational fashion. We can only present a unified and rational 'front' if we have thought about the roles & responsibilities within our negotiation team. Allocate the focus in the team between those that will manage the Relationship aspects, and those that will manage or be involved in the Task related activities.

Negotiation skills training teaches us to create an agenda that addresses the interests of all potential participants. A successful way to simplify complex business negotiations is to add structure. We need to focus on the process aspects to ensure that we move forward at every level of the negotiation. You will find that complexity can be managed with the use of an appropriate supporting structure.

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