I had the privilege of interviewing Chris Walsh, the Executive Director of Tonto Rim Christian Conference Center in Payson, Arizona. He works for Transformational Ministries, a subsidiary of American Baptist Church, USA. They have 3 conference centers and 165 churches. We sat down to discuss his experience in negotiating and deal making. There are plenty of negotiation opportunities for a conference director with employees, visiting groups, and conferees. Since I am the Executive Director of Heartfelt Music Ministry, I knew what he had to say was something I could easily apply.
We discussed three issues at the heart of negotiations. The first one was separating the people from the problem. Walsh stated that you really do have to keep the person separated from the problem. His advice was to deal with facts, trying to leave out emotions in order to be fair and balanced. Be objective in your processing. “In the process of negotiating, keep the goals in mind. When both parties see the goal, sometimes they catch it themselves how they are not helping get to the goal.” This topic, as well as the following ones, are covered in an excellent book called Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (Fisher, 2011).
The second issue was dealing with positional bargaining tactics. A clear definition is by Brad Spangler, “Positional bargaining is a negotiation strategy that involves holding on to a fixed idea, or position, of what you want and arguing for it, and it alone, regardless of any underlying interests.” Walsh told me sometimes he just couldn’t give them what they want. Haggling over the price of something is the most common experience of this. Is there some information you could give them that would help them see what they could get if they were even a little flexible? Assess how tight they are going to hold to their strong position, talk with them, then decide if they are really set or if they may budge on their position.
The third issue we covered was working toward mutual benefit. Walsh explained one of the ways he would do this, when a group would want to use their facilities, was to start with the lowest base price then add on features. Their base line for the camp is 150 people for the weekend. Base line for the visiting group includes many things from sound equipment, lodging, meals, etc. Adding on amenities is the mutual benefit. Unfortunately, some people will nit-pick and haggle about the price for the amenities. This is very frustrating and whittles down the feeling of helping each other. Walsh said going back to the facts and goals would help both parties get through the negotiations.
It was a joy to share experiences and laugh at some of the crazy things that happen when dealing with people and trying to reach an agreement in working together. Chris Walsh can be contacted at director@tontorimcc.com.
Resources:
Roger Fisher and William Ury. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, 3rd ed. (New York: Penguin Books, 2011).
