See if you already know all the negotiation techniques!
29 April 2020
Negotiation is an integral part of business relationships. An effectively conducted discussion is a recipe for achieving the most favourable solutions for yourself, your clients or your company. However, in order not to be taken by surprise by the other side and thus to play the whole conversation well, it is worth familiarising yourself with negotiation techniques.
Negotiation is primarily associated with business talks. Throughout the process, the most important thing is to prepare the strategy with which the negotiator will approach the other party. That is why it is so important to know negotiation techniques.
Their main task is to help achieve the desired goal. The use of negotiation techniques contributes greatly to success during discussions, as well as to bargaining for more favourable conditions. Knowledge of such techniques sometimes also makes it possible to detect unethical plays by an opponent.
Most commonly used negotiation techniques
The list of techniques used during a negotiation is very extensive. The person preparing for them should bear in mind that the determining factor in choosing the right method is, above all, the circumstances of the negotiation. Below is a list of the most commonly used negotiation techniques:
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Cracow market
A technique otherwise known as splitting the difference in half. It is based on the principle that, during negotiations, you should never take the initiative to compromise on your part. Above all, this method requires you to wait patiently for your negotiating partner to propose a 'halfway meeting'.
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Trial balloon
With this negotiating techniques can check what concessions the other party is prepared to make. The proposal remains expressed in the conditional mode (usually in the form of a question, starting with the words: what if...), which in the partner's mind sounds like an ordinary, non-binding question. In reality, however, a good negotiator is able to deduce from the answer where the limit of the other party's concessions lies.
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Dead fish
A dead fish is a negotiating technique involving the sudden and unfounded addition of a demand to the terms presented, which may be perceived by the other party as absurd or unrelated to the subject of the negotiation. The aim of this procedure is to provoke violent opposition in the partner - like a reaction to the stench of a dead fish. The substance of the action is the subsequent withdrawal of the proposal, in exchange for a concession.
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Low ball
A method otherwise known as 'nibbling'. It is most often used at the final stage of negotiations when consensus has been reached and the opponent is tired of the bargaining. It involves the presentation of relatively small and insignificant conditions at the end of the talks.
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Brooklyn optician
The use of this technique allows the negotiator to pick out the ground on which the opponent is moving and what the limits of the negotiation are. The use of this method involves gradually presenting successive aspects of the proposal, while monitoring the other party's reaction. In this situation, the principle of excessive demands should be abandoned.
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Bad cop-good cop
To use this technique, the negotiation must be conducted in a two-person team. One of the participants plays the role of the good policeman, friendly to the negotiation and looking for a win-win compromise, while the other does everything to hinder communication. In the absence of the bad policeman, the good policeman persuades the negotiating partner to make concessions.
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Relentless partner
The ruthless partner is a negotiating technique that involves presenting the other party with a situation in such a way that they think the interlocutor does not have full decision-making rights. Usually, the negotiator informs the partner that he or she has a superior over him or her who is responsible for the final outcome of the negotiation.
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Reward in paradise
A method that is based on an apparent concession. It consists of promising the opponent of the negotiation benefits that will be fulfilled at an unspecified time. In return, he is expected to agree to the concessions offered by the negotiator.
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Empty wallet
The empty wallet technique is primarily used to negotiate more favourable contract terms. It is based on extolling the attractiveness of the proposal offered by the opponent, while communicating that the current budget does not allow it to be accepted. This usually results in the partner seeking an alternative solution.
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Pricing massage
This technique will work well when proposing to the other party an offer involving a large cost. It involves quickly presenting the price of the offer and then rapidly listing its advantages and strengths to reduce the pain associated with the cost.
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Styl Rambo
This technique is particularly recommended for those who are aware that the negotiator has an advantage over them. It involves fending off an attack (in this case unfavourable proposals) in order to negotiate the best possible deal for oneself, while becoming a valuable conversation partner.
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Now or never
This is a very simple negotiating technique that involves presenting an offer to the other party so that they know that their deadline is limited. The purpose of such a procedure is to mobilise the partner to make a decision as soon as possible.
