Classic Sales Negotiation Tactic: I’ve Got To Talk To My Boss…

Picture this scene: it was about 20 years ago (ouch!) and I was still dating my wife when she suddenly had to replace her car. She knew exactly what she wanted: a Honda Civic with a manual transmission. There was a local Honda dealer near where she lived so one evening we went there to … Read more

A Sales Negotiator’s Guide To Dealing With A Deadlock

When driving a car, the #1 thing that most of us fear is hitting a wall. Or another car. Or pretty much anything that would cause us to come to a complete stop quickly. Why are we so afraid of this? Well duh – it will damage / destroy the car that we’re in, delay … Read more

Negotiation Battle: Tom Hanks vs. Mel Gibson

In the world of Hollywood, they have the ability to make the unreal seem oh so real. However, right now they are having a great deal of difficulty negotiating to make a contract between the big movie studios and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) become a reality. Are we going to be looking at another … Read more

Deadline? We Don’t Need No Stinkin Deadline…

What would the world of negotiating be without deadlines? I can tell you that Hollywood movies would lose a lot of their plot if the bad guys couldn’t set impossible deadlines for our heroes to try to meet. What about real life – why do people use deadlines while negotiating? It’s actually pretty simple, a … Read more

A Negotiator’s Best Friend: Time To Think

Quick – what is the most important characteristic of a negotiator? Sorry, that was a trick question – there are a number of correct possible answers. However, one trait that needs to be on that list is patience. Although being an American can often be an great asset, in negotiations sometimes it can be a … Read more

Weird Negotiating: The Buy Now – Negotiate Later Tactic

I’ve always thought that this tactic was just a little bit crazy, but I have come to think that it goes on a lot more than any of us may believe. To set the stage properly, you’ve got to be able to imagine a buyer who is desperate. For whatever reason, a project has got … Read more

Negotiating Self Defense: Countering The Reverse Auction Tactic

I’ve always liked superheros. From my earliest days of reading comic books to my current-day trips to the movie theater to see Spiderman and Iron Man, I just don’t seem to be able to get my fill of superheros. I believe that superheros, although fictional (probably – however I still have hope), can teach us … Read more

How To Negotiate To Buy A New Car In 2009

Ok, so let’s be straight about this – buying a new car is one of the biggest negotiations that most of us do on an annual basis. Any time that we have a chance to find out how to do a better job at negotiating this transaction, it’s almost like putting more money into our … Read more

Negotiation Tactic: The Reverse Auction

In the world of negotiations, there are few tactics as old and as well thought of as the “reverse auction”. This is a powerful negotiating technique that allows a buyer to get the sellers to offer their best pricing for the most amount of work. Not bad if you are a buyer, eh? Check out … Read more

What If There Was No “What If” Negotiation Tactic?

During a negotiation, there often arise cases where we’d really like to get the seller to give us information that they really don’t want to give to us. If only there was some way to test the other side’s willingness to settle with us. Oh, and if there was a way to also “zero in” … Read more