Bad negotiations can lead to bad deals - Rwabwogo

PIC: Rwabwogo addressing participants during the business training in Kampala recently. (Credit: Nicholas Oneal)

BUSINESS

KAMPALA - All entrepreneurs, employees and job seekers always get trapped in negotiations for various reasons. It can take place between job seekers, employees and employers, suppliers and customers.

Odrek Rwabwogo, a businessman and director of Tomosi Group, says negotiations are key in one's career and business growth.

He made the remarks during a national business development training for entrepreneurs at the Tomosi Group head office in Kampala recently.

According to Rwabwogo, bad negotiators always lead to collapse of their businesses, failure to obtain jobs and loss of customers.

"It is because of bad negotiations that some countries end up signing bad deals and cause financial losses. Some officials sign documents because of excitement, without analysing them to understand the nitty-gritties of a deal. This is dangerous," Rwabogo said.

He said one must be prepared to interface with another party to avoid getting in trouble during any discussions.

"First understand or investigate the other party you intend to negotiate with whether you want a job, partnership or any other deal. You can even talk to their business associates who have dealt with them. This will help you gain an upper hand in negotiations," Rwabwogo said.

Rwabwogo notes that negotiating is like a game where there is a winner and loser, depending on how one plays it.

"In business negotiations, people need to forget about their self-worth and look at the greater picture for their success. Many fail to get jobs because they demand for much from the potential employers, yet they cannot elaborately tell how the company or how their new employers are going to benefit from their services. They always refer to the performance of their previous workplaces, which makes no sense," he said.

"Of course you must always make your first offer as a principle of any negotiation because it is the first benchmark for other subsequent bargains. You must also be bold and aggressive on the offers," Rwabwogo added.

He, however, said one can always suspend or cancel negotiations if one feels things are getting nowhere.

"If you think there is a lot of pressure from another party yet conditions are unfavourable, you can indicate your reluctance to continue under those conditions and leave the other party in suspense. Don't ever show excitement," he advised.