Trade Concessions One at a Time

We live in an age of time pressure. Often, negotiations are damaged because we rush in and give away too much, too soon. With busy managers, owners, partners, there is a tendency to give away a large concession, to speed up and conclude the negotiation process. You may even be thinking, 'This negotiation is not really worth this much time, there is so much else to do.'

A better way of viewing the same situation is to calculate how much time has already gone into this negotiation: your technical people, your presentation, your revisions and, not least, the amount of time you have already put in. All this is at risk because the pressure of time is urging you to come up with a solution now. There may even be an issue of personal confidence here. You may want a quick and apparently successful outcome to boost your own confidence. Resist it. Remember your predetermined commitment; bite your tongue and trade concessions one by one - slowly.

You might say, 'I need to reflect, I need to talk to...' What we think of our skill depends on how the bargaining goes. When we reach agreement too quickly, we later think we are a lousy negotiator.

Remember how we saw earlier, 'Never say yes first time.' This applies to the trading of concessions. When either buyer or seller reaches agreement too quickly, they will wonder whether they made a mistake or not. When you feel under any pressure to say 'Yes', say 'No' and buy some time.