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Things to Never Say While Negotiating

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Re: Things to Never Say While Negotiating

#11

Post by enjo »

keefe wrote: post #9

>1. The word "between. I largely agree with this article and even this point in particular, but I think you will often end up in a situation where stating a range can move things along quickly. If you qualify it properly, it can be a useful way to turn the tables. For example, if you are discussing rate you could say well, from the other people I've been talking to it looks like positions like this one pay between $4…

In my experience that sort of thing has rarely turned out well for me. There really is something to the concept of anchoring. When you throw out $45-$65 their going to anchor on the $45 and now you have to move them off of that.

Although I suppose if you threw out a really high range that might have the same effect. "I'm thinking $60-$85" and get them anchored on the $60 number you're really after. You might scare them off with the top number in the range tho...

I've always done a lot better by coming in at slightly above the number I really want. If I'm looking for $60, I'll come in at $70. I'll justify why I'm charging that, and then let them move me off of it down to what I wanted in the first place. After all, if I said "$45-$65" and they paid $60 then they feel like their paying too much (their coming in at $15/hour over what you anchored them on). By starting at $70 and coming down to $60 they feel like they got a steal.

Re: Things to Never Say While Negotiating

#12

Post by enjo »

moe wrote: post #6
joelmichael wrote: post #4

I am guilty of the "Fuck you" one. The offered terms insulted me so much I no longer wanted to do business with the person. Had I taken this article's advice, I would have stayed calm and moved toward some highly unsatisfying "middle ground" purely to "close the deal". We are faced with innumerable opportunities in our lives, and we need to filter out the best ones; for most negotiations, a successful outcome is not…

The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which to burn. - David Russell

Bah.. never burn a bridge, simply don't cross it and find another way across.

Re: Things to Never Say While Negotiating

#13

Post by dstorrs »

chanri wrote: post #8

Is there any way to gain practice on negotiation? As an entrepreneur, are there any resources on the internet where you can "practice"? The only thing I can think of is playing poker or something at the casino...

Doing some negotiating that is low-stakes but has a value attached. For example, talk to a friend / sibling / whatever and offer to babysit / trade services (e.g. web design for massage) in exchange for $WHATEVER.

Re: Things to Never Say While Negotiating

#14

Post by tastybites »

joelmichael wrote: post #4

I am guilty of the "Fuck you" one. The offered terms insulted me so much I no longer wanted to do business with the person. Had I taken this article's advice, I would have stayed calm and moved toward some highly unsatisfying "middle ground" purely to "close the deal". We are faced with innumerable opportunities in our lives, and we need to filter out the best ones; for most negotiations, a successful outcome is not…

It takes a bit of experience (and some balls) to know which people to tell off - but! Never underestimate the incredible morale boost a properly crafted "fuck you" can bring to an overworked team in the heat of battle. When followed by a company happy hour, I've seen miraculous things happen.

The world is filled with quacks and assholes - as soon as your radar is tuned, you'll be able to filter the people worth keeping good relations with.

Re: Things to Never Say While Negotiating

#15

Post by semanticist »

Perfectly optimal financial value doesn't always equal perfectly optimal social value.

For my current job my employer's first offer was exactly the amount I'd been looking for. So I said 'yes' and didn't negotiate at all.

Maybe I could've talked them up, but I got what I was looking for and we closed the meeting in under 15 minutes with everyone happy.

If someone offers you what you want, why waste time negotiating for more?

Re: Things to Never Say While Negotiating

#16

Post by tonyshili »

keefe wrote: post #9

>1. The word "between. I largely agree with this article and even this point in particular, but I think you will often end up in a situation where stating a range can move things along quickly. If you qualify it properly, it can be a useful way to turn the tables. For example, if you are discussing rate you could say well, from the other people I've been talking to it looks like positions like this one pay between $4…

I think it's fine to say and let the counter party realize that various factors and details may affect the actual rate, but another to do this is to still state a single rate and qualifying it with a statement that lets the counterparty know that it is still negotiable. Because sometimes giving a range I feel is almost giving off as a sign that I'm not confident in negotiation process and I don't exactly know where to place the counterparty.

Re: Things to Never Say While Negotiating

#17

Post by dpatru »

gfodor wrote: post #7

I definitely think there are certain people who are born with negotiation skills, and those that are not. You can always get better of course, but some people have a natural ability (a specific form of empathy) to know what exactly the other party is thinking, feeling, and expecting, and can exploit it as much as possible. Its just as much a skill as a talent, and can be used for both good and evil.

According to what I've seen and read, there is no special talent to knowing what another side is thinking. It's just good listening, not assuming anything, and asking lots of questions. People who don't do these things will rely on guessing to understand the other side and will often be wrong.

Re: Things to Never Say While Negotiating

#18

Post by paulbaumgart »

semanticist wrote: post #15

Perfectly optimal financial value doesn't always equal perfectly optimal social value. For my current job my employer's first offer was exactly the amount I'd been looking for. So I said 'yes' and didn't negotiate at all. Maybe I could've talked them up, but I got what I was looking for and we closed the meeting in under 15 minutes with everyone happy. If someone offers you what you want, why waste time negotiating f…

How did you determine what you wanted?

Re: Things to Never Say While Negotiating

#19

Post by nostrademons »

keefe wrote: post #9

>1. The word "between. I largely agree with this article and even this point in particular, but I think you will often end up in a situation where stating a range can move things along quickly. If you qualify it properly, it can be a useful way to turn the tables. For example, if you are discussing rate you could say well, from the other people I've been talking to it looks like positions like this one pay between $4…

Problem is that once you've said "between $45 and $65", you've indicated that $45 is acceptable. Otherwise, why did you say it?

I've made this mistake before, and find that people always zoom in on the lower number and think that's your actual offer. And then it's quite awkward to say "Well, I didn't really mean $45, I won't do it for that little."

I've found that offering a range works much better when I make the lower number of the range quite a bit higher than what I actually want. That gives me room to come down, so that even once they've talked you down from that lower range, it's still higher than what you wanted.

Re: Things to Never Say While Negotiating

#20

Post by semanticist »

paulbaumgart wrote: post #18
semanticist wrote: post #15

Perfectly optimal financial value doesn't always equal perfectly optimal social value. For my current job my employer's first offer was exactly the amount I'd been looking for. So I said 'yes' and didn't negotiate at all. Maybe I could've talked them up, but I got what I was looking for and we closed the meeting in under 15 minutes with everyone happy. If someone offers you what you want, why waste time negotiating f…

How did you determine what you wanted?

Current salary, what I wanted to make more than that, what I felt was reasonable given other roles advertised at the level I'm at, the normal things.
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