Mastering Negotiation in Advocacy

''Successful negotiation is not about getting to 'yes'; it's about mastering 'no' and understanding what the path to an agreement is.' '“ Christopher Voss, businessman & former FBI hostage negotiator.

To some, the idea of 'negotiating' immediately brings to mind the scene from Braveheart where the great northern army of England's King Edward I offers terms to a much weaker rag-tag army of Scots.

Negotiation should rather be seen as two parties working to find a path from point A to point B, where point A is the current 'less-than-desirable' situation for all concerned and point B is a place of agreement.

Of course it doesn't always work out this way, however starting negotiations from this perspective rather than from an adversarial one will be more productive in the long-run.

There's also a few simple tips that can help advance your cause through most negotiation processes with government and political stakeholders:

 
1. Relationship is key '“ As we've discussed in previous articles, building a relationship with your advocacy target, i.e. a ministerial office or particular branch of the public service, is essential. Starting negotiations 'cold' without first working to build a good relationship is like running a marathon wearing gumboots - awkward, clunky and you won't make it as far as you'd like.
 
2. Do your homework '“ Work out what the priorities are for your target in a given policy area and how your issue impacts on those priorities. How can you make your issue 'contextually relevant'? Show how addressing your issue would help further their priorities, for example, will doing so create jobs in marginal government electorates? If so, which ones?
 
3. Come with a solution '“ Obviously critical to you advocacy is highlighting why the current situation is not working. However, instead of leaving the problem in the lap of the government and waiting for them to solve it, provide a solution or even a number of potential solutions that fit with the government's overall agenda as well as achieve your advocacy goals.
 
4. Be prepared to compromise '“ In most negotiations it's prudent to assume you will not achieve every one of your desired outcomes. It's therefore important to work out your go/no-go scenario. That is, the advocacy goals you simply cannot give up and the 'fat' you are willing to trim to reach a workable solution. Advocates that are unwilling to compromise on anything are not only likely to achieve nothing, but also run the risk of damaging their working relationship with the ministerial office or department in the long term.
 
5. Keep it simple '“ There's an old adage that defence ministers simply need to know which end goes 'boom' and how much it costs. Assuming that your advocacy targets, particularly ministerial staff, are across the detailed nuances of your industry can risk your key messages drowning in a sea of acronyms and power point slides. What is the issue? Who does it affect? Why is this a problem for the government? What are the potential solutions?