SUMMARY OF THE SECRETS TO POWER

NEGOTIATINGBy Roger Dawson

Presented by Dan O Walker

WIN-WIN NEGOTIATING It only works if it works for both parties

AMERICANS NEGOTIATE WHEN

➤ Buying a car

➤ Buying a house

➤ Buying from personal ads

➤ Buying professional contracts

➤ Accepting/offering a new employment position

➤ Keep in mind negotiating etiquette differs across different cultures

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT THAT BOTH

SIDES WIN?You won’t get an agreement if

you are trying to make them lose

The Different Personalities Their Negotiating Personalities

THE THREE STAGES OF

NEGOTIATING1) Establish criteria 2) Seek information

3) Reach for compromise

WHAT IS A GAMBIT?

➤ A negotiating gambit is a move to gain advantage. Think of a chess game and an opening gambit.

➤ Focus on the ball moving across the net and not what the other person is doing. Where are we now vs yesterday or this afternoon.

➤ Know the gambits and the counter-gambits.

HOT POTATO

➤ The counter tries to make their problem your problem

➤ We don’t have any budget.

➤ We have a lot of projects going on right now. I don’t know if I can get to this.

➤ The counter-tactic - Test it immediately for validity

➤ Budgets can be difficult, how do you typically pay for important initiative without budget?

➤ We have been crazy busy as well. If you could increase your close rate with a project would you fit that in?

NIBBLING

➤ Once you think that the deal is closed, they asks continue to get as much as they can.

➤ The principal is that once someone comes to an agreement they relax and once they say yes are prone to saying yes again.

➤ We are excited to be working together, just to be sure, this agreement comes with an admin license right?

➤ Thanks for finding me the perfect car, it does come with a service warranty doesn’t it?

➤ The counter-tactic - Make them feel cheap.

➤ Bob, you did such a great job negotiating this deal, you aren’t going to make me ask for another license are you?

APPEAL TO HIGHER POWER

➤ Put pressure on the other party without confrontation

➤ That sounds good, however I am going to have to take this to my executive team for approval.

➤ The counter-tactic - Tie it to a decision. If this is a fit, is there any reason that we can’t get a decision today? If appeal is valid.

➤ Appeal to their ego

➤ Go along with recommendation

➤ You will recommend?

GOOD GUY, BAD GUY

➤ The tactic - Use the pressure of a non-rational person to pressure the other side to give into a rational point-of-contact

➤ Example - The Other Guys (Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg)

➤ The counter-tactic - Call them out or attribute communication.

➤ Come on now, don’t play good guy, bad guy with me.

➤ Well I am not sure who to talk to. How about I work with you and attribute anything I have heard from him to you?

FLINCH

➤ Get them uncomfortable and get concessions. Whenever a proposal is made visibly (or audibly) flinch.

➤ Wow, that was more than I was thinking!

➤ Oh, that is way more than we can afford

➤ The counter-tactic - Call them out for using the flinch or not being prepared and having an idea of what it should cost.

➤ Example - I am surprised that, that shocked you. Have you purchased _______ before?

AGREE, THEN TURN IT AROUND

➤ The tactic - Always agree with the counter-party then turn it around.

➤ A lot of our customers thought that as well. What they found….

➤ All of our diesel customers thought that. What they found though when thinking about ______ is that in fact, it is a better fit for their needs.

WALK AWAY POWER

➤ The tactic - Never make the fatal flaw that you become so attached that you can’t just walk away. Give yourself options, even before the conversations start. People can sense if you have other options available.

➤ Example -

➤ The counter-tactic - Always be will to live without it and walk away if you need to do so.

➤ Example

➤ THIS IS THE MOST POWERFUL GAMBIT IN NEGOTIATING.

POSITION FOR EASY ACCEPTANCE

➤ The tactic - Make it as easy as possible to get an agreement in place.

➤ Example - Have the paperwork all written up so they have something tangible to work with.

➤ Assuming that works for you, I will have the proposal in your inbox this afternoon!

THE POWER OF WRITING

➤ The tactic - People attribute authority to things that are in writing.

➤ Example - Catch me if you can “The shoot is broken”

➤ Delaware is closed prank.

➤ The counter-tactic - Don’t believe everything that you read.

NEGOTIATE ON YOUR TERRITORY

➤ The tactic - Negotiating on your own territory gives you power, see the power section (slide # 24).

➤ Example - Negotiating a national insurance company. Started with a job offer and went from their (offices and ability to make job offers).

➤ The counter-tactic - On your own turf or a neutral location.

➤ Example - I have an appointment this afternoon, can we meet at this location?

BE THE ONE TO WRITE THE CONTRACT

➤ The tactic - You assume so much control of all the details that were not covered in the negotiation if you are writing the contract. Even if you have to pay your attorney to do so, its probably worth it.

➤ Example - I have an attorney on retainer, it will be easier for all parties if I just have him write up the agreement.

➤ The counter-tactic

➤ Example

BREAKING IT DOWN TO THE RIDICULOUS

➤ The tactic - Reduce the magnitude of the amount by reducing the denominator.

➤ Example - Instead of a $3,600 price difference say “We are only $300/month apart!”

➤ Or the difference that we are talking about is only $0.50 per day!

➤ The counter-tactic - Standardize quotes.

➤ Example - Yeah, but that is still $3,600 annually.

➤ Are you talking an additional $183 dollars!

THE DECOY

➤ The tactic - Create an issue to distract them from the real issue in the negotiation.

➤ Example - Oh a twin bed hotel room just won’t work for me. I might be willing to settle for a twin bed room, but what would you do for me?

➤ The counter-tactic - Stay focused and isolate. Then go to higher power or good guy bad guy

➤ Example - Is that the only issue that you see with our agreement?

THE RED HERRING

➤ The tactic - Is a version of the decoy. You raise a phony issue in order to get concession on the real issue.

➤ Example - North Korea and bringing Russia in for the negotiations in order to allow for the rebuilding of their air fields.

➤ The counter-tactic - Stay focused and isolate

➤ Example

THE RELUCTANT BUYER

➤ The tactic - People become more flexible in relationship to how much time that they have already invested in the negotiations. Never show over enthusiasm that you will buy that takes you in the wrong direction. Show the seller you need convincing. When you are about to walk away use it.

➤ Example - Oh you did a great job at finding the right fit for me. Just to be fair to you, what is the best price that you would give me?

➤ The counter-tactic -

➤ Example -

THE RELUCTANT SELLER

➤ The tactic - Play reluctant and elusive.

➤ Example - Oh not that property, that is my favorite property. You can make me an offer but I am considering taking it off of the market.

➤ The counter-tactic

➤ Example

POWER

➤ In negotiations you want to be perceived as having power and not be intimidated by their power.

➤ An impressive job title

➤ Ability for you/them to harm or reward

➤ Secretary screening or making calls

➤ Mr. Walker rather than Dan

➤ Your office and environment

THE FIRST OFFER

➤ The tactic - Never take the first offer

➤ The counter-tactic - Flinch then start negotiating. Try the vise.

➤ Example - Oh really?!? Well you are going to have to do better than that.

TRADE OFF

➤ The tactic - For every ask from the counter-party, return with a trade-off ask of your own.

➤ Example - We could get a more competitive offer if you are able to make a decision today.

➤ The counter-tactic - It is better to save your asks once an agreement is made and use it for nibbling. This will only work if you agree in principal. You don’t want to leave the big asks to nibbling.

➤ Example - Yes, I think that we have a deal. One last question while you write up the offer, that does come with leather seats correct?

THE VISE

➤ The tactic - Read over an offering and ask them to do better.

➤ Example - You’ll have to do better than this.

➤ The counter-tactic - Get specific.

➤ Example - Exactly how much better does the offer need to be?

BRACKETING

➤ The tactic - You know that typically negotiations are settled in the middle of the opening negotiation points. That means be careful when you enter to bracket your opening anchoring values. If it is wither too low or high and you will typically need to give away half of your negotiation range, you could have done better.

➤ The counter-tactic - Bracket well yourself.

ASK FOR MORE THAN YOU EXPECT TO GET

➤ The tactic - You never know what you are going to get. Ask for more than you expect. This is also great for bracketing.

➤ Think of the George Clooney in the George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Ugly Brad Pitt method of negotiating.

➤ The counter-tactic - Bracket well.

➤ Example - That is outside of what we would consider.