Business Negotiations: Top 12 Tips used for Winning Business Negotiations

Top twelve tips for winning every business negotiation. The tips are: 1. Distraction 2. Deception 3. Exaggeration 4. Lies 5. Manipulation of the Fact of Opponent 6. Nondisclosure 7. Exploiting Information 8. Change of Mind 9. Consult and Confer (and Negotiate) 10. Showing Concessions to Win Over the Opponent 11. Never Agree Too Early for Too Much 12. Getting over the Dead Lock.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 1. Distraction:

Negotiators are sometimes tempted to protect a weakness or conceal their interest in a particular issue by distracting their opponents. As long as the destructive tactics did not involve lying, exaggeration or outright deception, is one ethically permitted to distract an opponent? One need not disclose harmful information if the non-disclosure would do no harm to another.

We can assume that the other is entitled to a fair outcome in the negotiations, however he is not permitted to maximize his outcomes at the others expenses. One may attain through his skills, in the other party’s ineptitude or any other factor. In such cases you are not depriving him of his rights by limiting his outcome to something between fair and maximization.

Distraction as a tactics does not reduce an opponent’s options, it provides him with information-if he is skilled enough to uncover it—about your perceptions of what you believe to be important and what you believe he considers to be important. If you evade answering certain questions, your opponent may learn that you do so to protect a weakness.

Burying issues that you see as important or surrounding critical questions with questions you consider trivial reflect your own judgment. They may not be correct, they do not limit the opponent’s options, they provide an opponent with opportunities to learn from them, they certainly involve risk on your part.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 2. Deception:

It is an act of misleading the opponent about one’s own intent or future actions relevant to the negotiation. These include false promises or empty threats, excessive initial demands, careless statements and asking for things not wanted. Deceptive tactics are designed to profit at other’s expenses or to lead others into acts that are not in their self-interest. Infect none of us wants to be deceived.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 3. Exaggeration:

These are the statements to deceive and gain advantage at other’s expanses. It is in contrast to negotiator’s belief and knowledge. These statements have some truth in them but basically they fall in the category of lies.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 4. Lies:

A lie is a statement made by a negotiator that contradicts his knowledge or beliefs about something material to the negotiations. They are intended to deceive the opponent about values, intents, objectives, alternatives, constraints and beliefs. Lying is permissible when you believe your opponent is lying. It is the only defense against an opponent who lies.

Occasional use in negotiation might not do much harm to the one who is lying but its excessive use may cause more harm than good it reduces the extent of freedom as compared to the opposite arty which is not using this tool in negotiations.

A statement laced with lies exposes the risk of being detected which can put the party at much disadvantageous stage or it may give an opponent upper hand in negotiations if he finds out the truth. A lie is farfetched from truth, so one lie may force the person to add more lies to make his point clear, the more explanations that he forwards the more entrenched he becomes, it is like sinking in quick sand.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 5. Manipulation of the Fact of Opponent:

A tactic for improving your relative position is to weaken that of your opponent, either psychologically or economically. Direct attacks are generally aimed at lowering another’s self-esteem, often through guilt or embarrassment. Indirect attacks include closing off another’s alternatives or undermining his support or alternatives.

It also involves lying, deception or exaggeration. You could blame your opponent for damage caused by others or of unknown origin, or create the impression that he was the author of harm done to you or others when no real harm had been done.

However there are cases when for manipulation we do not need to take the unethical route, but just tell the truth about the opponent which is damaging the opponent’s position in the negotiation.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 6. Nondisclosure:

We have determined that negotiators are ethically required to tell the truth- laying, deception, and exaggeration is wrong. But are they required to tell the whole truth? May a negotiator withhold factual information that could be of use to an opponent? The answer depends on the nature of the hidden truth.

If failure to disclose the truth would harm one were opponent, it would be unethical. Hiding a product or service defect or flaw that would mislead the other about the value of the item being bargained for would be wrong. If, to induce a potential buyer into paying a higher price, you fail to disclose a lien on property or a mechanical problem with an automobile you are attempting to sell, you are wrong. Just so, potential unlikely to be able to make payments on a purchase is acting unethically.

However you are not required to disclose personal information that could be harmful to your case. You need not reveal that you are able and/or willing to pay far more for an item than the asking price. And you are not required to disclose your reservation on price, although you are not permitted to lie about it.

Likewise, if you—as a buyer—suspect that the value of an offered item is greater than the asking price, you are not required to disclose that fact to the seller, presuming the seller has the competence to assess the value of the object. It would be wrong to take advantage of someone incapable of evaluating the worth of an object.

From a different perspective, are you permitted to disclose the true value of an object to a misinformed seller? Yes; there is nothing wrong with being more generous in a negotiation than you are morally required to be, as long as you are negotiating for yourself.

However, if you are acting as an agent for another, you are required to obtain the best deal that is legally and ethically permissible, so you cannot disclose the true value.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 7. Exploiting Information:

Effective negotiators uncover information about themselves, their opponents, and the object of a negotiation during both the preparation phase and the negotiations itself. If that information is gained by legal and ethical means, no ethical proscription forbids a negotiator from using it.

If you learn that your opponent really wants what you have to offer, infect values it more than he is disclosing, you are permitted to raise your asking price.

If you learn that your opponents fewer options than he suggests, thereby raising his valuation of what you have to offer, you may do likewise. As long as that information is legally and ethically accessible to both parties, you are permitted to use it to strengthen your position.

In business sometimes it becomes difficult to identify whether the information on the competitors gained is by ethical means or unethical means. Most of the businessmen would justify the end and means as necessary tools. However when on the topic let us consider a situation when the information gained is by unethical means, than are we justified to use such information for negotiation?

There could be two situations. If the information is used purely to gain an economic advantage than it might be termed as bad tactics, but if the information gathered shows any fraud committed by the opponent, than the use is justified in order to expose him.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 8. Change of Mind:

Sometimes we say one thing but do just the opposite. Like we might say that the price is unacceptable under any circumstances, but later on we accept it but the only situation under which we cannot change our mind is the one when we make a commitment or agreement, in such a situation we cannot change our mind.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 9. Consult and Confer (and Negotiate):

Consult, Confer and Negotiate are three words that go hand in hand during the process of negotiation and can be used as one of the tactics for halting the negotiation, temporarily if it gets hot and you need time to reconcile yourself.

Consult:

It suggests the act of seeking of guidance and/or direction under an authority when in doubt. This word does not suggest an ultimate agreement. Like a manager consulting a general manager for the extent of discount to be given.

The words of the general manager act as an authority. The consultation basically refers to a relationship of a superior and a junior. It represents two levels of authority one, which seeks advice, and the other, which gives advice.

In this case it is not necessary that the one who gives the advice is superior, he can be a man with statistical data or a data bank itself, and the total act of consultation is limited to either getting the information or a piece of advice. Consult does not mean the presence of opposing parties.

Confer. It means discussions or consultations at nearly same level for the purpose of seeking clarifications or for exchange of views. The sense of junior and senior is much less in this case. In this case also the conferring do not indicate the ultimate agreement. For example the management confers with the union about the working conditions, or, a trainer conferring with the trainees about the performance.

The basic difference between consult and confer is that in consultation the other party has a sense of superiority where as in conferring the other party has a sense of equality.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 10. Showing Concessions to Win Over the Opponent:

If you find some minor points having no or least price tag, but which the other party is demanding too keenly, than keep such points to be agreed as a concession or incentive to the other party for signing the agreement

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 11. Never Agree Too Early for Too Much:

Negotiation is a game of give and take, but never to be disclosed unless warranted by the situation. The other party takes up any concession that you disclose at an inappropriate time for granted and you lose the bargaining power associated with that concession.

Similarly what you wanted to take out of the opponent, if you disclose to your opponent too early and when it was not required to be disclosed, than be sure your opponent will never give it to you, he will find thousands of reasons not to give it.

Business Negotiation: Tactic # 12. Getting over the Dead Lock:

In the event there is a deadlock on any issue, at first by-pass it and take up some other lesser important issue to soften the opponent’s mind. Make him feel at ease, and then bring up the issue that caused deadlock. Show your eagerness to listen to his point of argument and justifications.

Make him do the maximum talking, the more he talks the more he will open up and divulge certain important lead which otherwise he wouldn’t. In business most of the dead locks would be on price, delivery, quality, and payment.

The later three can be easily resolved amicably but the one dealing with price is crucial. If the deadlock is on price then the best way is to ask the opponent to open up the price calculations threadbare apparently to know the individual items making up the total price.

Ask the other party for the breakup of the cost elements. Find out the price tag of each of the elements. Checkup which element is heavier on price and which is lighter. Find out the alternatives to the heavier points or where ever possible drop out some which you think you can do at much cheaper price elsewhere.

Than recalculate the price if it is closer to what you were expecting or what the opponent was willing to accept, than give it fine tuning by adding some concessions or indirect attractions to persuade the opponent to agree. In most of the cases he will agree.

But if the difference still remains wider than repeat the process all, over again till the time the required level is reached. But in all these exercises never show emotions but give a feeling to the opponent that you are trying to help him, try to get his cooperation and not confrontation.