As a sports manager, negotiation is a critical skill set you need to master. From a sponsorship perspective let’s go through the process.
1. It’s always easier to negotiate with someone you have a great relationship with. People think a negotiation is a one off event. The fact is negotiation is ongoing from the first time you meet a sponsor to the time you wish to renew. If you can, develop the relationship long before you have to sit down and talk turkey.
2. Get clear on what you need and what they need. Put all the pieces on the table to discover what the differences are – is it money, is territory, is it benefits? And is the gap between these differences big or small? Continually focus on the final outcome you want, don’t get caught up in petty differences.
3. Find out WHY they need what they need. Eg. A sponsor might need to stay within a certain budget. Your job is to find out why! Is it because they need to use additional funds on leveraging the relationship, is it because the athlete’s availability for appearances is limited, is it because the ROI is hard to measure and justify to their CEO? Focus on meeting these underlying needs rather than arguing about the stated need (in this case price).
4. Choose your style. What kind of people are you dealing with? How do they do business? Does your style need to be very cooperative or very competitive? People react to both styles very differently. Find this out and use flexibility in your approach.
5. Decide the best climate for your negotiation. This involves Time, Place and Mood. Can this negotiation be discussed in a café over a coffee? Or does it require boardroom chest beating at HQ? Most negotiations take place over weeks and months. There will be multiple venues, different times and moods to each discussion. You need to identify what climate you need to create to get the best result.
6. Tactics & Counter Tactics. There are a million out there on how to solve and settle your negotiation. They are all designed to aid the points above. I suggest you read the below books. In my opinion they are the best.
Getting to Yes - Roger Fisher
Getting Past No – William Ury
Getting Together – Roger Fisher & Scott Brown
