BUSINESSMANAGEMENTREVIEW.COMOCTOBER 202419THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON I LEARNED WHILE ACQUIRING AND DIVESTING LAND IN NORTH AMERICA IS THAT TO GET TO AN ACCEPTABLE DEAL, I NEEDED TO GRASP NOT ONLY THE BUSINESS ASPECT OF THE CONTRACT, BUT ALSO ADJUST MY ATTITUDE TO COLLABORATION, FLEXIBILITY, AWARENESS AND GRITwhich many people mistakenly feel are more about their attitude, character, and awareness. Based on my observations, regardless if the geographical territory is Europe, Canada or United States, the four specialized skills that make up the soft skills include leadership, communication abilities both verbal and nonverbal, relationships with other skills, and integrity/trust skills.When entering any real estate contract negotiation, you should understand what you want to achieve and where you are ready to compromise. You should also grasp the other party's priorities, and how they align or differ from yours. This will help you find areas of mutual interest and possible causes of conflict. Before the negotiation begins, an internal threshold for risk management must be created, which should be represented in your document terms and conditions. What are the implications associated with this agreement? What financial, legal, and market risks would you face with a specific counterparty? Are you subject to any legal or regulatory constraints depending on the geographical location where you or your counterparty do business, or on the sort of commercial activity? Once it is set up, the terms will outline the must-haves, nice-to-haves, and non-negotiables, either due to legal or regulatory concerns, or business risk tolerance.It is crucial to understand the goals and top priorities of the other side. Never relinquish in a negotiation unless you're getting something in return. You can exploit the other party's desires or objectives to your advantage if you are aware of them. They might agree to forego a small percentage of the final sales price if you close the transaction within a shorter period and when the value of the property is in the tens of millions of dollars. The following actions can be used to develop and sustain trust between partners: meet your obligations. Deliver on your promises and carry out your stated plans. If you run into difficulties, be proactive in your communication and work together with your partners to discover solutions. Establish interpersonal connections. Make yourself accessible to those you work with and supply them with your prompt attention to their requests and questions. This indicates your dedication to collaboration and fosters trust in your dependability.CONCENTRATE ON THE BENEFITS AND ADVANTAGESFocusing on the value and advantages that the other party may obtain from the agreement, rather than the price or expenses, is one of the major contract negotiation success criteria for a long-term collaboration. You aim to establish an agreement that benefits everyone in which both sides feel they are receiving an acceptable deal.CONDITIONS AND TERMS SHOULD BE PRECISELY NEGOTIATEDAfter determining the deal's worth and benefits, you must negotiate the clauses and restrictions that will control the contract's execution and performance. The extent, length, deliverables, milestones, payments, warranties, liabilities, termination, and dispute resolution terms are among them. You must meticulously and carefully negotiate these agreement conditions to ensure that they are clear, precise, and enforceable, and that they reflect the expectations and obligations of both parties. You must also be willing to make concessions and trade-offs to balance risks and rewards and find mutually acceptable solutions. WHAT ELSE SHOULD YOU THINK ABOUT?"You must begin as you mean to go on," as the saying goes. Most stakeholders' first interaction with one other occurs during the contract negotiation. If you start out combative or forceful, they may sign the contract just to get the meeting over with, but they will never do business with you. LESSONS LEARNEDThere will be plenty of times in which you will have to tackle a difficult assignment or take a risk without knowing the outcome. These periods in your life should be viewed as opportunities to put your best foot out there and truly invest yourself in whatever choice or work at hand, with awareness that while it may appear difficult, it may also be extremely worthwhile eventually. Be willing to venture outside of your comfort zone if you want to advance in your career and as a person in general. In addition to embracing fresh challenges, I also actively look for them out. It's never too late to entertain and say "Yes" to new and diverse opportunities regardless of your age or level of your profession. New experiences often bring unanticipated and surprising rewards.
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