Negotiating the sale of a business

Facilitated negotiations get the best results

People often wonder why the negotiations for the sale of a business (or any other substantial asset) fell apart and they were unable to conclude an agreement.  Normally they blame the other party with statements such as, "They were not prepared to negotiate" or "Their expectations were completely unrealistic".  All these reasons have a common theme, which is that the other side was the cause of the breakdown.  In most cases if you asked the same questions to the other side you would probably get similar answers.  

So what is it that causes the negotiations to stall and ultimately fall apart?  Usually at some stage in the negotiating process the negotiations get into a major traffic jam and both sides feel that they are going nowhere and simply give up.  How many real traffic jams have you been in when you have been physically stopped for a duration of time and you have never eventually gotten home?  Sure you may have been late or missed that important appointment or possibly got very frustrated, however eventually you did get out of that traffic jam and now if it is not already totally forgotten it is only a distant memory in your mind.  When you are in a traffic jam you have options.  You can sit there and wait it out or you can try to take an alternate route that may get you moving however there may be other traffic jams or congestion along the way that you also have to deal with.  You also have the option of switching your car off, getting out of it and walking away altogether.  Personally I don't know of anyone that has done that in an actual traffic jam, however I do know plenty of people who have done that with a negotiation.

Having a neutral facilitator helping the parties negotiate deal dramatically reduces the possibilities of the parties switching off their engines, getting out of the negotiation vehicle they are currently in and walking away when the negotiations have reached a traffic jam.  Instead the neutral facilitator will work with both the parties helping them explore alternative routes that they may be able to take to achieve the same goal.  It would be unlikely that the first alternative route would produce the desired outcome and that other negotiation traffic jams will happen on alternate routes however by the parties continuing to engage with one another eventually an alternative route that works for both sides will more than likely be found.

Don't let your next potential deal fall over.  Contact us now by either calling 0800 746 225 or emailing danny.gelb@mediate.co.nz so we can assist you by facilitating your negotiations.