Negotiating with an unyielding partner can feel like a tug of war, but patience and perspective often pave the way to resolution. Focus on active listening to understand their priorities, reframing resistance as an opportunity to uncover shared interests. Avoid confrontational tones and instead ask open-ended questions to explore mutually beneficial solutions. Success often lies not in winning, but in creating a balanced outcome. Reframe the negotiation by emphasizing shared goals instead of opposing positions. Use silence strategically sometimes pausing allows the other party to rethink their stance.

1. Listen Actively: Pay attention to the partner’s concerns and opinions. This creates an atmosphere of understanding and respect. 2. Highlight Mutual Benefits: Emphasize shared interests to increase the chances of acceptance. 3. Offer Creative Alternatives: Suggest new and flexible solutions to enhance the likelihood of reaching an agreement. 4. Maintain Professionalism: Avoid escalation and stay calm, which helps build long-term relationships. 5. Negotiate Gradually: Break down difficult points to facilitate a step-by-step agreement.

If you’re working on Partnerships, dealing with mismatching targets with a partner it’s quite common. In order to find a common ground or alternative benefits that may not have been seen from the partner; try to: - ask more questions; ask for details - deep dive on process - understand the partner’s business lifecycle and find new synergies that were not highlighted in the first place By understanding partners’s need you’ll be able to come to the table with new proposals that may help the negotiation and make the customer less stubborn and more comprehensive. My2cents :-)

1. Listen Actively: Pay attention to the partner’s concerns and opinions. This creates an atmosphere of understanding and respect. 2. Highlight Mutual Benefits: Emphasize shared interests to increase the chances of acceptance. 3. Offer Creative Alternatives: Suggest new and flexible solutions to enhance the likelihood of reaching an agreement. 4. Maintain Professionalism: Avoid escalation and stay calm, which helps build long-term relationships. 5. Negotiate Gradually: Break down difficult points to facilitate a step-by-step agreement.

Dealing with a stubborn partner in negotiations requires patience and strategy. Here's how to find common ground: Listen with empathy 🎧: Understand their priorities and concerns to identify underlying resistance. Focus on shared goals 🤝: Reframe the conversation around mutual benefits to align interests. Stay flexible 🔄: Offer alternative solutions or compromises to create a win-win scenario. Building trust and showing willingness to collaborate can often soften even the most resistant stance. 🌟

One approach that has worked well for me in high-stakes commercial negotiations is gaining a detailed understanding of the partner’s economics. I achieve this by modelling the financial metrics most relevant to their internal decision-making (e.g., ROI, gross margin) using data from their public disclosures (e.g., annual reports), industry sources, and, where necessary, informed estimates based on my industry knowledge. This enables me to genuinely put myself in their shoes, often uncovering ‘common ground’ commercial solutions that benefit both parties. Alternatively, if the offer on the table is reasonable, it strengthens my argument by providing additional proof points for why it should be acceptable to the partner.

3 Steps That Work The key is shifting from positions to interests. When facing a stubborn negotiator, I've found success by: 1) Asking open-ended questions to understand their underlying concerns. Often, resistance stems from unspoken fears or needs. 2) Actively validating their perspective before presenting alternatives. Simple acknowledgment like "I understand why this matters to you" can lower defenses. 3) Finding creative solutions that address both parties' core interests. For example, when a client insisted on lower prices, we explored value-added services instead of pure cost reduction.