What's your negotiation style?
Everybody negotiates. Whether it's for work or in everyday life, it's an essential skill. Find out what your natural negotiation style is and learn how to use it to improve your chances of success. Take this quiz to find out.
Quiz Questions
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1.You are negotiating with a new company for services. Internally you have a range of between £45-60K to pay for this contract but you want to pay as little as possible. A quote of £65K has come in for the work. What bid do you make?
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A.£60K - this is the best that we can do, we won't go above it(Correlates to: Competitive negotiator, Accommodating Negotiator)
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B.£50-60K - Let's make a deal in the middle(Correlates to: Compromising Negotiator)
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C.£45-50k - start from the bottom of the budget(Correlates to: Avoiding Negotiator)
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D.Under £45k - let's push below our budget(Correlates to: Competitive negotiator)
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E.No bid but ask "what else can we do"? Is there anything other than money to bring the price down?(Correlates to: Collaborative Negotiator)
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2.You are renegotiating a contract with a supplier. They have said they are bringing 3 people to the meeting when previously it was done one-to-one. How many people do you bring?
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A.I would attend on my own(Correlates to: Accommodating Negotiator)
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B.I would also bring 3 people to match them(Correlates to: Compromising Negotiator)
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C.I would bring more people than them(Correlates to: Competitive negotiator)
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D.I would ask them to bring fewer people(Correlates to: Avoiding Negotiator)
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E.I would ask them to agree a joint team beforehand(Correlates to: Collaborative Negotiator)
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3.You want to buy a used car and have a £2K budget. You have seen an ideal car but it's £2300. Another dealer is selling a similar car for £1600, but it's a different colour and 3 years older than this one. Do you ...
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A.Ignore the information on the other car in talking with this dealer - it's not helpful(Correlates to: Avoiding Negotiator)
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B.Tell the dealer about the other price and ask them if they can match it(Correlates to: Competitive negotiator)
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C.Tell the dealer about the other car but say it's not your preferred colour but the price is more what you are looking for(Correlates to: Compromising Negotiator)
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D.Make an offer of £2000 for the car and say that is your top budget(Correlates to: Accommodating Negotiator)
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E.Ask them if you can give them a testimonial or other benefit for a discount on the price(Correlates to: Collaborative Negotiator)
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4.You are changing job. One reason for moving is for a better work-life balance. During negotiations, the new employer offers you a 15% salary increase, exceeding your expectations, but less annual leave than you wanted. Do you ...
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A.Accept without questioning the leave - you have got a better salary than you were expecting and life is swings and roundabouts(Correlates to: Accommodating Negotiator)
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B.Make an alternative offer reducing the salary down to a 10% life but with the extra holiday that you want(Correlates to: Compromising Negotiator)
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C.Push for the extra annual leave and tell them it's critical to you for taking the job. Threaten to look elsewhere if necessary.(Correlates to: Competitive negotiator)
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D.Ask them what their reasoning is and if you can work together on a better offer which satisfies the work-life ratio(Correlates to: Collaborative Negotiator)
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E.I would accept the standard terms of their contracts - people push too much on this and it's not needed(Correlates to: Avoiding Negotiator)
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5.You are in the middle of an important negotiation, which is scheduled to last another 2 hours. Suddenly the other party says they need to leave in 30 minutes and wants to cut to the chase. Do you ...
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A.Say of course - this is an important deal and you don't want to lose momentum(Correlates to: Accommodating Negotiator)
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B.Ask to adjourn the meeting with a recap of what has been achieved to reconvene in the next few weeks(Correlates to: Collaborative Negotiator)
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C.Tell them to cancel whatever else has happened as this negotiation is halfway through and they need to conclude it. It's rude if they leave(Correlates to: Competitive negotiator)
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D.Ask them if they can do an extra hour and see where you get to.(Correlates to: Compromising Negotiator)
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E.Say nothing - this is their decision.(Correlates to: Avoiding Negotiator)
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Quiz Outcomes
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1.Competitive negotiatorYou are a 'Competitive Negotiator' and like to push for what you want. This can be good, as you are unlikely to neglect what is important to you. The problem is that you can ignore building relationships with the other party, which can cause long-term problems. If you are overly competitive, you may miss out on bigger or repeat deals. Tip: Spend more time listening to the other side and working out if there are opportunities that benefit you both. This will make them see you as less aggressive and may lead to more rewarding long term deals.
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2.Compromising NegotiatorThis is the most common type of negotiator. 'Compromisers' have a pragmatic approach and know that there could be concessions on both sides. Therefore they will try and find a solution in the middle. This often results in neither party getting the best deal. Compromisers may also miss the most exciting and lucrative opportunities. A good compromise negotiator will therefore check all their options before compromising. Tip: When you feel close to agreeing a deal, check you're not missing opportunities to extract more from the negotiation.
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3.Avoiding NegotiatorThe “I’d rather not be negotiating” negotiator. 'Avoiding negotiators' want it to be over as quickly as possible. This may mean ignoring key bits of information or not pushing their position enough. 'Avoiders' tend to be strategic, as they can see the potential pitfalls of situations, and the positives and negatives. When avoiders are able to overcome their natural reluctance to negotiate, they can become some of the strongest negotiators around. Tip: Prepare, prepare, prepare! Use structures (meeting agendas, decision trees), plans and clear processes to make yourself more confident to negotiate.
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4.Accommodating NegotiatorYou are the stereotypical nice guy/girl of negotiation. You will pretty much always get an agreement, but you may have neglected your own needs along the way. As a positive, you are likely to have good relationships with the people that you negotiate with, which helps with long term negotiations. With practice, an aware, accommodating negotiator can be excellent, but they need to realise which of their interests they are ignoring and how to be more assertive.. Tip: Think about identifying your own needs and working out what are the 'must haves', what are 'desirables' and what can be given up. Be willing to accommodate on those things that can be given up, but be clear on what is essential to you and why. Do not apologise for this.
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5.Collaborative NegotiatorYou are a collaborative negotiator and like to look for the win-win in all deals. You will often find that you come up with more creative solutions than other negotiators, and you don't see the point of negotiating as being to beat the other side. On the downside, being a collaborative negotiator can make you vulnerable to more competitive negotiators, and you may have seen your good nature being taken advantage of by others. Tip: To be able to negotiate with different types of negotiator be clear at the outset about what you are trying to achieve together, this will stop them dominating the discussion.
