Up to this point you’ve read about the strategies, tactics, pitfalls, and mechanics of a fast, friendly, and effective negotiation. You get that the best approach is a win-win, and that the biggest secret to success is preparation. You’ve adopted a negotiating style and you’ve learned to deal with the styles of others. You have the tools to approach any negotiation—whether it is with a business counterparty or your own teenager—with confidence and style.
However, over time, seasoned, career-minded negotiators, including the rest of us for whom negotiation isn’t our main job but an adjunct to the job we do, realize that negotiating isn’t just about working out the deal. It is about building and nourishing long-term relationships as well as a long-term reputation as a fair, effective negotiator.
Who you are as a negotiator can have a lot to do with who you become as a professional. Why? Two reasons. First and most obvious, if you can negotiate effectively you and your organization can get what you both need or want as deals are made going forward. Second, your reputation as an effective and fair dealmaker precedes you to the negotiating table, which enhances your standing as a professional and also builds trust and respect from your counterparties. This in turn makes every negotiation faster, friendlier, and more effective. It’s a positive cycle, with you as beneficiary.
This concluding chapter suggests ways you can go beyond making the deal to cultivate a favorable negotiating reputation and competence for the long term.