Category Archives: Negotiating Tactics

Summary: Forcing a counterpart to let go of past issues and look at what’s ahead. Sometimes counterparts get into conflict and start blaming each other for negative things that have happened in the past. (This…

Summary: Attempting to upsell a counterpart by offering extras. One of the challenges everyone faces is the aggressive salesperson who pushes additional products or services. The perfect model of this tactic is the fast-food cashier…

Summary: Asking questions to reveal any hidden motives behind a counterpart’s rejection of a deal point. To be an effective negotiator, you have to learn to Uncover the Real Reason behind a counterpart’s resistance. Example….

Summary: Putting conditions on an agreement in order to protect oneself. The Safeguard is employed when a relationship is new or you have little or no trust in it. The tactic is designed to protect…

Summary: Leaving the most difficult issue for the very end of the negotiation. With this tactic, Isolating Agreement is taken to the extreme and the single most difficult issue is left for last. One example…

Summary: Discussing the issues that can be easily agreed on before addressing the difficult issues. In complex negotiations, there are usually many deal points that need to be discussed and negotiated. Issues such as price,…

Summary: Adjusting goals when it appears the original goals are unobtainable. Sometimes you may be unable to accomplish your negotiation goals. In those instances, it may be best to quickly switch goals. For example, if…

Summary: Adding an extra or add-on to make a deal work. At times you may need to add a little something extra to make a deal work. For example, a salesperson may decrease the price…

Summary: Making a final, specific demand to force a counterpart to make a decision. From time to time it may be in your best interest to “draw a line in the sand,” or create a…