Negotiation: tactics, tricks and threats

Most successful negotiators recognize that the way people involved in negotiations behave does not always reflect their true feelings or intentions. Let’s take a look at the negotiation tactics that you or with you can use. Whether you choose to use these tactics or not, it is vital to understand:

o Tactical work

o They can be used on you and you can use them

o Once recognized as tactics, their effects are reduced or eliminated

You may feel that in your particular case there is no need to negotiate or resort to tactics. In negotiation. It is a matter of personal choice.

In general, tactics are used to gain a short-term advantage during negotiation and are designed to lower your expectations of reaching a successful conclusion.

There are many tactics available to negotiators. Here are a few that you might recognize.

Pre-conditioning:

This can start even before you meet or start your negotiations with the other party. Let’s take a sales example:

You call for the appointment and the other side says, aggressively:

“Don’t bother coming if you are going to tell me about the price increases. You will be wasting my time and I will be forced to speak to your competitors.”.

When you arrive, they will keep you waiting at reception for half an hour, without being told why. When you walk through the door into the other person’s office, they tell you to sit down, but they don’t look up. Instead, they sit down to leaf through their competitor’s brochure, silently ignoring his efforts to strike up a conversation.

You are given an uncomfortable low chair to sit on that is directly in line with the sun coming into the office. At this stage, how safe do you feel?

The monkey on the back:

Some negotiators have an irritating habit of turning their problems over to you so that they become your problems. This is the “monkey on his back” that they want you to take with you.

A classic example is the person who says: “I only have £ 10,000 in my budget”.

This is often used tactically to force a price cut. This is what you can do.

When one side says “I only have £ 10,000 in budget”, look concerned and say something like:

“That’s a problem. As you no doubt know, the cost of our systems can be up to £ 20,000 and I really want to help you choose the best system that meets your needs. Does that mean if one of our systems has everything you are looking for? , but it costs £ 20,000, would you rather I not show it to you? ”

The “monkey” has been returned and they have to make a choice. If the objection is genuine and the budget figure is correct, you should try to find an alternative that meets your needs and theirs.

If they can really only spend £ 10,000 that’s not a tactic, but the truth. When it comes to tactics, the first decision you need to make is whether it is a tactic or a genuine situation. If you are genuine, you have a problem to solve, rather than a tactic to overcome.

The use of a higher authority:

This may be the most effective way to reduce negotiation pressure by introducing an invisible third party, and it can also be effective in closing the deal.

“I need my Board of Directors to agree to this.” “If you agree to the terms we have discussed, do we have a deal?”

However, be careful to use this device in moderation so that the other side does not start to feel that you have no decision-making authority yourself.

One way to counter this tactic is to say before the negotiation begins: “If this proposal meets your needs, is there any reason why you won’t give me your decision today?”

If the other side still wishes to appeal to a higher authority, appeal to your ego by saying: “Of course, they will agree with your recommendations, right? Will you recommend this proposal?”

Nibbling:

Negotiations can be a tiring process. As the time when an agreement is likely to be reached approaches, both parties show a psychological need to come to terms and move on to something else.

You are very vulnerable as the other party looks for your pen to sign the order or contract form, to grant items that do not significantly affect the final result. “Oh by the way, this includes free shipping, right?” gold “Oh, by the way, does the price of the car include a full tank of gas?”

Bites work best when they are small and are requested at the right psychological moment. Like peanuts, eat enough and get fat.

Good negotiators often save certain items on their wish list until the last minute, when the other party is vulnerable. Be careful with this.

The good and the bad:

You may have come across this tactic before or seen it used in movies or on television. This is a tactic designed to soften you up in negotiation.

For example, you are negotiating the renewal of your service contract with the Director of Purchasing and your Director of Finance. You present your proposal and the purchasing manager suddenly becomes angry and disgusted, muttering to himself about how unfair you have been and how the relationship has really ended.

You take your briefcase and they show you the door when the CFO smiles at you sympathetically and says:

“I’m really sorry about that. He’s under a lot of pressure. I’d like to help him renew his contract, but he won’t really consider the price you’ve suggested. Why don’t I go talk to him for you and see if we can work out a deal? What is the end result of the contract? If you give me your best price, I’ll see what I can do. “

The best way to deal with this tactic is to recognize the game that is being played and to assess exactly what the quality of the relationship is. You might be able to say something like:

“Come on, you’re using the good guy, the bad guy. You are an excellent negotiator, but let’s sit down and discuss the proposal realistically.”.

If you don’t have this kind of relationship, stand firm and insist on dealing with the bad guy, or brag and give a number that is within your acceptable range of alternatives.

A way to combine the good boy with the bad boy. with greater authority is saying things like:

“Well, I’d love to make a deal with you on that basis, but my manager refuses to allow me to agree to terms of this nature without referring me and refuses to talk to sellers. Give me your best price and I’ll see what I can do.”

Body language:

It is important in negotiation to react verbally and visually when offers are made. You may have seen the most theatrical negotiators bow their heads in despair or accuse you of being unfair and embittering a perfectly good relationship when you present your proposal. Human nature is such that we can believe and accept these outbursts against us and, as a result, our bargaining position is weakened.

Make sure the next time you are in a negotiation you react to the other party’s offer. If you don’t show any reaction, they may be tempted to ask for more and more and you will lose the initiative in the negotiation. Also, their opening offer is almost certain to be higher than what they are willing to settle for, so it is important that you clearly indicate your unwillingness to accept the opening position.

If you get to the point below which you will not go, it is important that you show it with your body language. Newsreaders, when they have finished reading the news, have a habit of taking their script and ordering their papers. This tells the world that they have finished their homework and are preparing to leave.

Similarly, when you make your final offer, it can be very powerful to gather your papers and signal with your body that it really is your final offer. Put your pen away, sit in your chair, and be quiet. Look worried and keep quiet.

If your voice says final offer but your body says: let’s keep talking, the other party will ignore what you say and keep negotiating.

The use of silence:

During the negotiation, you may make a proposal and find that the other party remains silent. This can be very difficult to handle and is often a sign of disapproval for the inexperienced negotiator. Just as nature abhors a vacuum, silence induces people to speak.

If you have a proposal to make, make it and ask the other party how they feel about it. Having asked the question, sit down and wait for the answer. Do what you do; do not change your offer as this could seriously weaken your position.

Vice:

A common technique used by negotiators when presenting a proposal to them is to say:

“You’ll have to do better than that.”

The most powerful way to deal with this is to ask them to be more specific. Whatever you do, don’t weaken your bargaining position in response to vice by revealing anything too easily. This will only encourage repetition of the behavior.

The power of legitimacy:

People believe what they see in writing. We all assume that if a thing is printed or written, it is not negotiable. This is what can make price lists so powerful. If you have to present a customer with a price increase or want to encourage an early order to overcome a price increase, show something in writing, such as an office memo from your boss announcing the increase. This will have a much bigger impact than simply saying that your prices are about to go up.

When you are presented with a price tag in a store, ask to speak to the manager and make an offer. You might be surprised with the results.

And finally, the low-key approach:

Don’t be overzealous during negotiations. Excessive enthusiasm can encourage savvy negotiators to review their strategy and demand more.

If you are in a negotiation and the other party does not respond to your proposal, recognize that this could be a tactic and avoid giving concessions just to encourage them. Salespeople like to be liked and will often give away money in a negotiation if the other party seems unhappy.

For example, if you are buying a car, avoid telling the seller things like:

“This is exactly what I’m looking for. I really like alloy wheels.”.

Develop a low-key approach. Say things like:

“Well, it may not be exactly what I’m looking for, but I might be interested if the price is right.”.

Copyright © 2008 Jonathan Farrington. All rights reserved