February 21, 2005 (Computerworld) --
Before you sit down at the bargaining table, read these advanced negotiating tips from vendor management expert Roger Dawson, quoted with permission from Secrets of Power Negotiating (Career Press, 2000).
Bracket your objective. Assume that you will end up midway between the two opening negotiating positions. It's not always true that you'll end up at the midpoint, but it's a very good assumption to make.
Danger Point: You have made the first offer. The vendor representatives bracket your proposal, and when you end up in the middle, they get what they want.
Solution: Get them to go first. Any suggestion that you should make them a better offer should be met with: "If you'll make a proposal to us, I'd be happy to take it to my people and see what I can do for you with them."
Options give you power. This principle underlies all power in a negotiation. The side that has the most options has the most power. Work to let the other side know that you have options. Limit their perception of options by positioning yourself as different from your competitors.
Danger Point: You have fallen in love with the car, house or job opportunity for which you are negotiating. The other side can sense that you have few or no options.
Solution: Work to develop options before you go into the negotiation.
Flinch at the other side's proposal. This is the No. 1 mistake that poor negotiators make. They don't flinch at the other side's proposal. Always react with shock and surprise that they would have the nerve to ask you for a concession.
Danger Point: The other side often makes a proposal to you that they really don't expect you to agree to. When you don't flinch, they start believing that they could get it from you. It makes them tougher negotiators.
Solution: Practice your flinches before you go into a negotiation. A concession often follows a flinch.
Play reluctant buyer. When you are buying, you can squeeze the seller's negotiating range with this three-stage tactic.
Stage 1: Listen very carefully to the vendor representatives' proposal and ask all the questions you can think of.
Stage 2: Tell them that you appreciate all the time that they have taken with you, but tell them it's not exactly what you're looking for.
Stage 3: At the last moment, call them back and say, "Just to be fair to you, what is the very lowest price you would take?"
Danger Point: A seller may be playing reluctant seller with you.
Solution: Believe that you have more power than you do. Let them know that you have options. This gives you power.
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