Recycled Bullsh-IT

One of the endearing characteristics of the British is our general reluctance to wrangle. We may half-heartedly have a haggle when in some foreign souk, like Monty Python’s Brian, but the thought of conducting a ferocious fight over a deal doesn’t sit easy with most of us. But if we don’t learn how to negotiate, we are doomed to be repeatedly right-royally rogered by our managers, suppliers, customers, children, in-laws, etc.

Fear not! Here’s my six sneaky strategies to nail normally nasty negotiations:

1.      Preparation: Planning & Plotting

Understand both your own and your opponent’s objectives, strengths and weaknesses – although most companies’ “Gift and Hospitality Policy” has made bribery & blackmail depressingly difficult to get away with these days

Have options for each likely point of contention. You can then offer or accept a concession in return for a corresponding consideration. Remember that some of high value to you could be insignificant to them. And vice versa.

Bring a gun to a knife fight. You should have a cast-iron case for your position, and a strong argument as to why their position is a transparent tissue of lies. At least some facts are needed here.

2.      Timing

The second secret of successful negotiation, just like great comedy, is timing. This in turn consists of:

• Picking a time when your opposition is most desperate e.g., vendor’s financial Q4 for buying, budget year end for selling. The month after year end is a graveyard for deals, as there is no urgency to spend.
• They who set the deadline lose. If you foolishly state that the deal must be done by a certain date – congratulations! You’ve lost about half of your negotiating strength. Why? All your opponent has to do is string you along until close to this date and you will get desperate enough to agree less favourable terms to ensure you hit this closing date. So, find out the other side’s real time limit.

3.      Rules of the game: Cheats Always Prosper

Set the conditions in your favour. There are no Queensbury Rules for haggling, so make sure all the dice or cards are stacked in your favour, preferably legally, or at least untraceably.  So, try to use your contract not theirs. Hold talks at your offices so you control the environment in your favour (or your Teams, not their Zoom). Hide the knuckle-dusters in your gloves. Ensure the noisy parties are held next to their hotel not yours.

4.      Persuasion: Carrots, Sticks and a Forked Tongue

You should be dangling some really juicy carrots in front of your adversary (group-wide deal, multi-year, references, etc) to get and keep them excited and desperate to do business with you. Your big sticks (typically price/quality/timescale for buying) need to be waved whenever they try to play hardball on their terms. If you hit an impasse, use a silver and/or forked tongue to soothe and persuade your antagonist. It is worth hiring or becoming someone with sufficient verbal precision who can state a position that sounds attractive to the listener but gives nothing away. Be aware you might end up being reviled as those other parseltongues – politicians, lawyers and salesfolk.

5.      Outcome: Win/Win, Win/Lose or Lose/Lose

Of course, everyone plays to win. Some are happy with win/win, as long as they get what they want. Some b’stards will insist on win/lose since they are evil or are sporting too many testosterone patches. My experience is that most win/lose deals end up as lose/lose by either falling through, or the loser seeking revenge at a later point. The best deals look and feel like win/win even if they’re not, so let your opponent think they have won.

6.      No fear: Walk the Talk

The ultimate negotiation skill is the ability to walk away from the table and not do the deal. Obviously a drastic and dramatic action, and not one that can be used too often. To use this successfully you need a few pre-reqs. First is that if your bluff is called you can live with the consequence of a no deal. If not you’ve crapped out with a lose/lose outcome. You will need to have put in place the necessary Plan B that replaces the deal, and prevents you getting immediately fired.  Secondly, you need to leave channels in place to restart the negotiations when/if your opponent backs down or returns with a better offer.  Finally, this needs to be a rational controlled decision, which will spur your opponent to compromise, not an emotional or egotistic outburst.

Mostly, success in negotiations comes done to clarity of purpose, and a lot of hard work. Convinced? Let’s shake on it…

John “Deal or No Deal” Moe