The cooperative approach to negotiation is one of the most effective approaches to adopt on the negotiation table. It could turn deals your way in ways that you never imagined. It is important for the person that wants to go to the negotiation table to look at what is at stake with care and plan the strategy to adopt. There are different approaches, but I will be looking at some important features of the cooperative approach and how they truly works.

It Is The Most Conciliatory Approach To Negotiation

This implies that it is an approach that looks to gratify the other party in such a way that they will accept what you have on the table. It is like paying someone for his or her troubles and adding a written apology to make them feel better.

It is conciliatory in the sense that, this approach builds lasting bridges that can still be used well after the negotiation has been concluded. If you are looking to build such bridges, the cooperative approach is the best to adopt on the negotiation table.

SEE ALSO: The Importance Of Communication During Negotiation

A lot will depend on the issue at stake and the factors affecting that issue, but the cooperative approach is usually adopted or proposed by one party after they have concluded that it will be the best way forward.

This means it is something that is used after a lot of research, study or better still; preliminary meetings about the whole issue. You may also be prepared to deal with a situation where the other party might not be interested in adopting the cooperative approach. You may have to convince them that it is absolutely the best approach for you.

Negotiation has to do with passing your interest across in such a manner that the other person gets to see his or her own interest and recognize that it has been met.

It Is Usually Adopted When One Party Has The Greater To Lose

It is the party that feels they have the greater to lose, if the case goes beyond the mediation level to a court of law, that might want to push for the cooperative style. This is why they have to be the proactive one on the negotiation table by placing offers that will be hard for the other party to refuse.

SEE ALSO: Negotiation Using Solution Based Approach

The approach follows common sense as it were, because whatever the party that has more to lose negotiate or agree to, will not be as much as what they will lose if they decided not to settle on that negotiation table. What they will lose may be beyond cash and this is what a lot of people factor in, when they go to the negotiation table with the comparative approach.

They Use Concession As An Incentive

A successful cooperative styled negotiation, relies heavily on the use of concession. This can be explained as what they are willing to let go of, if the other party accepts to make a deal on that table. It is the concession that they put across to the other party, that will determine how quickly they will be swayed.

We must say here that this makes them vulnerable, as it makes the conceding party to appear weak before the other party. It is as if they are exposing themselves to take a direct hit. However, expert negotiators know how to use this to their advantage (hiring an expert negotiator could make all the difference when you are on the negotiation table). Concession is the carrot that is dangled in front of the other party, though, concession does not have to be exactly what the other party is asking for in all cases.

A good concession should be good enough to get the other party thinking that it won’t turn out badly if they shake hands on this. We still have one more thing to say about the use of concession, since it is the single most critical tool when adopting the cooperative style on the negotiation table.

It Can Work In The Favor Of The One That Has More To Lose

The first thing about concession is that it can work in the favor of the party that presents it i.e. the one that has the greatest to lose if the other party decided to become cooperative. Beyond this, concession can serve to blind the other party to the real gains that will come your way if they accept your offer.

SEE ALSO: How To Negotiate A Business Contract

The real gains of using concession and indeed the cooperative style may be different from the perceived gains or losses. The other party should be made to see the perceived gains as well as losses, because this will work in your favor especially when the other party is okay with the negotiation. You should be careful that you shield their knowledge from your real gains.

It Is Ideal When The Other Party Also Has Something To Lose

What makes the cooperative style in negotiation have more appeal is when the other party also has something to lose if they do not accept what you are offering or your concession. This is common sense, because what they have to lose if they decide to turn you down might be more than what you are offering them to accept.

This is what makes the cooperative style more appealing and can be a way of quickly resolving an issue by coming to a mutual agreement that will benefit both parties.