Seminar 5

Articles for discussion

1. Negotiating tactics: don’t let "good guy – bad guy" control the sales negotiation

Counter one of the classic negotiating gambits by addressing it directly.

You've assembled a brilliant sales proposal for a new client and when you arrive to the meeting to hammer out the final details, you suddenly find yourself sitting across the table negotiating with two people. One is a person with whom you've had contact during the sales process; the other is new - a purchasing agent.

The former is characteristically warm, gracious, and quite friendly to your proposal. The latter is hard-nosed, aloof, and completely opposed to nearly every one of your positions. They are playing the classic negotiating tactic of 'good guy - bad guy.'

In the audio book, "Sound Advice on Negotiating Skills," author Roger Dawson says that when buyers use good guy - bad guy, they are counting on the salesperson being drawn to the good guy. Psychologically, the salesperson wants to please him or her by making concessions.

The solution, says Dawson - a renowned speaker and author of the book, "Secrets of Power Negotiating" - is to "counter their tactic by letting them know that you realize what they're doing. It's such as well known negotiating tactic that when you say to them, 'Oh come on, you're not going to play good guy, bad guy with me, are you?' they become embarrassed they were caught and will back off."

By Richard Cunningham, a principal of What’s Working in Biz, a publisher of business audio books and online audio programs on marketing, sales and small business strategies.

2. Avoiding and accommodating in negotiation

The avoiding approach to negotiating is characterized by losing, leaving, and withdrawing. No commitments are made, and behavior is impersonal. Use this approach when you would get hurt by staying or when you want to change the ground rules. It is useful when issues are trivial and is helpful when the other side has much greater power. Its disadvantage is that the problem is left unresolved, and this can result in nothing getting done if too many problems are swept under the rug. In the avoiding approach, at least one of the parties displays a subtle reluctance or unwillingness to resolve the issues. This approach is of little use for those working with organizations as it strains relationships and prevents the building of trust between the parties involved. Using this approach can also increase the other party's resistance to negotiation.

Under the accommodation approach, the parties are yielding, and they try to avert conflict. The accommodating negotiator undervalues his own worth and accomplishments and places top priority on maintaining peaceful relations with others. It is a "don't rock the boat" philosophy used when there is a need to concede on small points in order to gain on major points later. It is helpful when the other side is right and you should give in, or when preservation of the relationship is more important than negotiation. Among its problems are that it creates potential IOU's for future negotiations. Furthermore, it may hand you a major loss on important issues and can lead to a habit of concession on many issues, hence decreasing your power and reputation. This approach gives away too much by overly emphasizing the relationship between the parties. Accommodating may satisfy the other party while your interests suffer. Use this approach when appropriate, but do not make a habit of it.

By Mr. Schwartz who conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government. He has authorized over 65 books and products, and taught at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.