Trade results are the types of results that can occur at the end of a trade. All negotiations end with one of four possible outcomes: one side wins and the other loses, both sides lose, deadlock, or both end up winning. Obviously, the goal in a cooperative negotiation is for both parties to walk away with their needs met. Familiarize yourself with the four different outcomes of negotiation and make it your goal to seek a win-win outcome.

lose lose

In this kind of outcome, egos come into play that frustrate the negotiation process. Both sides deepen their positions and are unwilling to compromise with each other. In the end, both parties end up losing out on the deal. There is resentment between both parties as a result of the result and it is unlikely that they will ever negotiate with each other again.

Example

A union rejects a contract offer and goes on strike until the demands are met. The company refuses to give in to this intimidation-type technique and deepens its position of not giving in. In the end, the strikers go back to work with no raise and lost income and the business loses a lot of sales revenue, and the consumer loses because the business must raise prices to pay for their losses.

win-lose

In this type of outcome, one side wins and the other loses. There is no compromise with a win-lose outcome. It is a battle where one side gets all the needs, one side gets all their needs, and the other gets nothing. While the winning side may be quite happy with the result; the losing side has a high level of resentment about the deal because none of their needs were met. This generally results in the end of any future negotiations and the termination of the relationship.

examples

A street fight is the ultimate in win-lose negotiations. One side wins by using physical violence and the losing side has no choice but to submit to defeat.

A civil court battle is win-lose. A judge or jury decides the winner and loser based on the available evidence. One party wins punitive or compensatory damages and the other party loses that money.

Stagnation

In this type of outcome, neither side wins or loses and after a long trading session, both sides find themselves exactly where they started. This is a result of not being able to deal with interests and only with positions. Stalemates occur when both sides aggressively defend their positions and neither side can make the other side move.

Example

You are going to buy a car and the seller quotes you a price that is too high. You are not willing to quote your price and the seller is not willing to quote your price. He then walks out of the dealership and finds another one to deal with and the salesman moves on to the next customer.

win win

This is the kind of result you strive for when trading on the street. In this type of outcome, both parties walk away with their interests and needs met. Both parties leave the negotiation table satisfied because they left the negotiation with more than they started with. Relationships are preserved because both parties cooperate with each other to determine a just solution to the problem. This result also reinforces confidence for future negotiations between the two sides because they have established a positive relationship.

Example

A kidnapper agrees with the police negotiator to turn over and release his hostages. In exchange, the negotiator agrees that the SWAT team will not go through the gates and kill the kidnapper. In this example, the kidnapper’s needs for survival are met and the negotiator’s needs to end a life-threatening confrontation without any bloodshed are met.

Key points

The four possible outcomes of a negotiation are: lose-lose, win-lose, stalemate, and win-win.

Set your goals on having a win-win outcome in all of your negotiations. A win-win outcome is when both parties to the negotiation walk away with their needs met.