Negotiations and the Relationship Paradox

Longstanding business and client relationships are an essential part of the insurance and financial services industries, yet when it comes to negotiations the stronger the relationship, the greater the potential problems.

The relationship can result in agreements being reached more quickly but often they are of lower value than what they could have been and this can lead to things being left on the table, or at worse, people giving up things that they are reluctant to do so because of the pressure of the relationship. In the long run, this can damage the relationship.

This session will show how relationships impact the negotiation process, how to set boundaries and how to handle them to ensure that you and your negotiation partner maximise value and don´t fall victim to the relationship paradox.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• identify the reasons how and why longstanding relationships can negatively impact the negotiation process.
• recognise the key skills that can be used to overcome these potential negative impacts in the negotiation process and create better value agreements.
• implement a strategy to ensure that value is maximised in a negotiation and that the relationship is maintained and strengthened throughout the negotiation process