Not everything in international trade is importing and exporting or getting through customs, a fundamental pillar is negotiation.
Negotiations prior to reaching a mutual agreement that can be finalized in an international sales contract implies concessions by both parties.
As well as an approximation of all the positions that the different companies have previously taken.
Knowing our weaknesses can make us stronger so let’s do a quick review of the most common mistakes of companies in the field of international negotiations.
Extremist negotiation
One of the most common mistakes of culture in international negotiations is to conceive of the negotiation itself in terms of “Win or Lose.”
Any process must provide added value that allows both parties to gain mutual gain.
Not being clear about this concept today is starting the house with the roof and the basis for some of the other errors on this list can be found here.
Fronts to convince
An extremist negotiation often generates two fronts that try to convince of their reasoning.
Which in a large percentage of cases causes feedback, hence the need for negotiations to become games to attract the client.
Try to find what the other negotiator wants and offer it in cooperation according to our possibilities.
Fuzzy objectives in the negotiation
To attract, we need to be very clear with our first and second level objectives and the limit of our concessions.
Only in this way will the two parties reach a common area of understanding. When both reach their maximum benefit, they will cordially decide if they are interested in the agreement.
Bad tactics
Tactics that build on past mistakes, but may work locally, rarely work in international trade between vastly different countries to build long-term relationships.
Examples are strategic submission concessions, bargaining as an intermediate solution, the random threat to dissolve the negotiation or the withdrawal tactic.
You have to know very well the tactics that are accepted by that country or company as valid before risking to use them.
Illegitimacy of the agreement
Breaking any sense of fairness, equality or legality in the agreement or proposing it as part of the agreement or import-export process can drastically end the negotiation in many areas.
In countries like Canada it is not allowed to even joke about the matter in many businesses.
Untidy shapes
It is essential in the negotiations to know the culture of the country with which you are going to negotiate as part of persuasion and seduction.
The protocol in formal or informal meetings is a fundamental part of the negotiation and for this the cultural context will give us information on the individualism or collectivism that is expected of us.
A big mistake would be to fall into cognitive dissonances between what is said and our non-verbal communication, generating insecurity and confusion.
Use of time in negotiation
Time must be managed correctly without urgency, but without delay when evaluating options.
Taking into account the Attention Curve, short meetings with breaks are preferable, but with enough time to consider alternatives to the first meeting.
