Backside Deal Breakers


The true opposite of the up-front deal breaker is the backside deal breaker, which one side rolls out after the other issues are settled, just before the closing phase. Used as a tactic, it’s most effective—I should say, thought to be most effective—when the deal is almost in sight: “Okay, now that we’ve got a price on that bathroom renovation, I need you to do it by next week.”

The idea behind the strategy is basically this: By waiting until the very end of the process, the negotiator has allowed the other side to become emotionally involved or attached to the deal. The negotiator has piled up the incentives. The contractor sees he’s going to make a nice hunk of change for smacking down a few dozen tiles and parking some nice brass over the sink. He’s started to figure what he’s going to do with the profit: that ski trip the wife has been pushing for since last year. He now has every incentive to agree to the deal.

But there are downsides for the negotiator using this tactic. For one, introducing a deal breaker after the other points of a deal have been lined up risks scuttling agreement on those other points. And if the other side realizes that the last-minute point is very important, then he can easily use it as leverage: getting attached to deals works both ways.




Negotiate and Win. Proven Strategies from the NYPD's Top Hostage Negotiator
Negotiate and Win: Proven Strategies from the NYPDs Top Hostage Negotiator
ISBN: 0071737774
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 180

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