USA
Doing Business
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Negotiating
Americans have a straightforward and direct approach to negotiations. When using a team, members are selected based on their technical knowledge.
Americans are comfortable addressing items in a logical and sequential manner. They prefer to discuss one item until agreement is reached before moving on to the next item.
Americans generally rely on objective data.
Americans seek fairness in business interactions. They may present several possible options at the start of the negotiation so that a workable solution can be determined quickly.
Although they may make concessions if necessary, Americans tend to save these for the latter stages of the negotiation process.
American negotiators can become frustrated if too much time is devoted to relationship building rather than negotiating.
Americans will take you at your word. This is a culture where "yes", "no" and "maybe" mean just that. They may not be sensitive to body language and innuendo.
Money can be discussed at any point during the negotiation. Their preferred style is to provide a figure and the rationale for how they came to this amount.
Americans are competitive and like to win when negotiating, although they are also comfortable with a win-win result. They want to be fair to all concerned, but they value getting the results they need.
Unlike many cultures where eloquence is important, Americans are more concerned with making their point.
Once Americans agree to a deal, they seldom change their minds.
It may at times seem that American negotiations are run by lawyers. This is because there is strict government legislation concerning many facets of business.
