Dirty Tricks in Negotiation
Negotiation
... is a key life skill, an inherently interpersonal activity that requires a good understanding of human psyche , and it is vital to your success.
Negotiate Like a Ninja: 2 Stealthy Tactics to Try
Negotiator perform 2 cognitive tasks:
Judgement: Evaluate the content of the available options for its fairness. Choice: Determine which available option is preferred.
Use a Red Herring
Instead of making one single offer, try offering 3 possible scenarios: Something that works for you but can be very expensive for the other party. A win-lose . The red herring. Something that is a lose-lose for both parties. An option through which no one wins. Something that is a middle ground and a win-win for both. Social psychology shows when you present more options (the red herring), the other party will rarely decline all the options.
Give Them an Anchor They Can’t Refuse
The value of an offer is influenced by the first realistic number that enters the conversation. Once this number—or anchor—is set, other judgements are made by adjusting away from that number as the reference point.
Pretending to have cold feet
Scenario: You've reached a verbal agreement, but in negotiating the final terms, the deal gets questioned. "We're not really sure that this is the right thing for us to do at this time." The best strategy is probe further to see whether there's a real problem or whether you're just being yanked around.
4 Dirty Negotiating Tricks (and How to Counter Them)
Surfacing an unreasonable requirement
Scenario: Working with a prospect to craft a deal and suddenly the customer demands something that makes no business sense. " We'll need you to stop doing business with our competitors if you're doing business with us."Your best strategy is to call the customer's bluff.
Requesting a last minute discount
Scenario: You're at the point of signing the contracts,when the prospect demands a steep discount. Example: "My boss says that if don't drop the price 25 percent, the deal is off."The worst thing at this point is to give the discount , because then you've told the prospect you can't be trusted to offer the best deal.
Stretching out the process
Scenario: The sales opportunity is proceeding apace when suddenly all the important meetings are pushed way out. "I can't meet next Friday to discuss this; how about next month?"Your best strategy is to surface some negative consequences of delaying the sale.
Negotiating a deal is a psychological game.
Like all games, there are skills to learn and rules to follow .
It Pays to Get Angry In a Negotiation--If You Do It Right
Strategies to change dynamics within a negotiation
Emotion predicts action: A negotiator wants to know what you're thinking and will carefully track your emotion for clues. Choreographed emotions will call your opponent's bluff. The power of anger: For the opponent to concede to your demands, r ising anger is more effective than static anger and rising anger is more effective than either rising or static happiness. A rising surge of anger elicits fear of possible escalation into conflict and fear of no deal at all, so the opponent wants to cut losses by giving in. But you are in trouble if you're negotiating on values, not goods or if there's a power imbalance. Taking action. Though anger studies are useful, caution is advised. The trick is to feign displeasure without showing aggression or disrespect.
Successful Negotiation
The most successful negotiators don't entertain dirty tricks in negotiation but instead strive to reach agreements that are satisfactory to both parties. But if you find yourself on the receiving end of something that doesn't feel quite right , provided you recognise what's happening, you can address the situation and swiftly bring it back to a better place.
Dirty tricks in negotiation
Jet Lag
Used on negotiators who travel long distances: to start meetings while the negotiator's concentration is impeded due to jet lag or fatigue. Jet lag seriously impairs judgement. Tip for the negotiator : Travel early and leave time for recuperation before meeting the other party. Where you suspect your hosts like to be hospitable, keep news of your early arrival quiet.
Negotiation tactics
Every business owner needs to learn how to negotiate. It's important to recognize when tactics are being used in an attempt to best you in a negotiation.
10 Dirty Negotiation Tactics and How to Beat Them
10 tactics that strengthen your negotiation skills
Left at the altar - This tactic often yields 11th-hour concessions. Making balloon futures - A service is forecasted to be worth more before it's performed. Calling a higher authority. Crunch time - Where the other party applies pressure. Bring in the dancer - Distracts by long talks without saying anything substantive to the issue at hand. Re-trading the deal - Other party tries to reopen points from a closed agreement. Huntley and Brinkley - Two people for the other party team up against you at the same time. Turning Soviet - Your side is not considered in the deal. The walkout - Deliberately walking out of a negotiation to show disinterest. Roaring brains - People that talk a lot with no real experience in a particular area.
It's different over here
A dirty trick often used against people visiting other cultures. The approach of "but we always do it this way over here" can be difficult to counter if you're not prepared for it. Tip for the negotiator: If you suspect this approach in advance, have with you a local expert who knows the customs.
Rolling concessions
This dirty trick is frequently used to gain additional concessions from the unwary when the agreement appears to be in sight . Giveaway phrases to look out for: “I think we’ve nearly got a deal, if we can just agree on this last item I think we’re there...” Tip for the negotiator : Draw up an agenda of all the issues to be discussed early in the negotiation, so that additional ones can’t be introduced at a later stage.
Delays and deadlines
This is an attempt to gain concessions using time pressure. In its simplest form the trick involves setting a deadline by which time the agreement must be signed, or the deal is off. Tip for the negotiator: Keep arrangements flexible and build time around your negotiation. Time pressure may even work in your favour if you keep arrangements to yourself until the deadline has arrived.
Sunk cost tactics
This is based on the assumption that the more a negotiator has invested in trying to reach an agreement, the less willing they will be to abandon the negotiation. Tip for the negotiator : Write-off the previous investment. It then has no significant influence on current decisions.
Hot and cold
The perpetrator attempts to instil panic into the negotiator by changing from a position of enthusiasm with the negotiation to suddenly showing no reaction. Tip for the negotiator : Being aware of this tactic allows you to remain calm. To counter their silence, and to avoid giving anything away, ask questions about their position. This way you gain information and in doing so, take back power.
Deliberate confusion
A tactic sometimes used when the other negotiator is losing ground. Tip for the negotiator : Skilled negotiators deal with this by: checking their understanding with the other side to ensure both parties hove the same view summarising to confirm agreement on what has been discussed. This requires patience and listening skills, but is a very effective way of refocusing on the real issues.
"I haven't the authority"
A tactic to imply a lack of decision-making authority. The negotiator is quite happy to accept concessions made by the other party but qualifies any concessions asked for by saying, "I'll have to check this out with my boss, as this demand exceeds my mandate". Tip for the negotiator: At the outset, check the other party has the authority to make a deal. If not, either match your authority to theirs
Changing negotiators
A tactic sometimes used when the negotiation is not going the way the other party would like. The new negotiator often denies knowledge of concessions their company has made or claims the previous negotiator had no mandate to make them. At the same time, you are held to the concessions you have made. Tip for the negotiator : Counter this by either insisting that previous agreements are honoured or by starting negotiations again from scratch. In some circumstances, it may be in your interests to also change negotiators.
"Details I can't divulge"
This is one of the most commonly used dirty tricks in negotiation. People using this tactic often appear reluctant to release details of a so called competitor offer or other issue on ethical grounds. Tip for the negotiator: Even though the other party will probably refuse to release details, you can check the credibility of the competitive offer by asking details such as: "What sort of operator training are they offering?" or "What response time do they guarantee?"
