ore than ever before, if you are actually negotiating electronically, you'll need to have your planning completed ahead of time. It is easy to slip into a flurry of e-mails without regard to pre-planning your goals and your positions. Using your computer to dash off a note, a suggestion, a demand, or a response is so comfortable. Often you find yourself in the awkward position of having moved too quickly into closure.

Don't be lulled into the false sense of security of feeling you are at home, on your computer, negotiating for a commodity you want. You need to plan and use the Web in support of your plan.

There are two major ways people are e-negotiating today: finding and buying commodities or e-mailing to communicate during a negotiation. Both situations require planning -- planning to establish goals and boundaries or planning to strategically integrate the use of e-mail into your negotiation process.