„Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure“, Confucius, Chinese Philosopher
Let’s start with the understanding of the "right" preparation first. The majority of businessmen and women prepare themselves with the facts to be negotiated (figures like revenues, costs, distribution rate and so forth) - facts that are truly important. But if you stick to that, you’ll probably think that your counterpart has to see things like you do. There’s no other way! Your truth is the universal truth. That’s how your subjective perception of the problem can turn into a perceived objective truth. This will affect your thinking: you are in danger of losing your flexibility and narrowing your horizon.
In the German speaking part of the world this is a common approach to preparation: factual, figure-based and intellectual. If German speaking companies negotiate with organisations from other countries where they need strong inter-cultural competencies, negotiations often fail. The short preparation is not sufficient then.
The success of a negotiation isn’t only connected to the adequate preparation of facts and figures. In the preparation phase you also need to take into account your counterpart, his/her company, stakeholders who will be affected direct or indirectly by the negotiation, your own relationship with the other party, the design of the negotiation process, roles in each negotiation team and so forth. The better you think these things through, the better you will be prepared for surprises. You truly think the negotiation through. But extensive preparation requires deeper skills from you and a high level of discipline. It will take discipline to control your responses - to avoid reacting without thinking what your counterpart might do or say, or to "change the game" when necessary - and to keep moving in the direction you desire.
As you have no doubt already concluded, this kind of preparation is time-consuming. It takes time to think through your (and your counterpart’s) needs, interests, potential options etc. It doesn’t matter if you do the preparation alone or with the help of others. A complex negotiation requires extensive preparation. Most negotiations won’t end successfully after only one meeting. You will probably need several sessions. And each session has to be prepared beforehand. Furthermore, you should take the time between the meetings to reflect upon what happened last time, how the process is working, what you have learned about your counterpart and his/her company and about your next steps. The reflection can be done by you alone, or with colleagues, or with a Shadow Negotiator.
Prepare not only facts and figures for the negotiation, but also