How Do You Apply Golden Rule No. 5 When Things Get Difficult?
For you, the most difficult circumstances are those in which the decision is taken in your absence: for example, if you are a seller and your purchasing committee sees various suppliers and then makes a decision alone. Another example is where you are the buyer and the seller presents the draft contract to a committee that makes a collective decision.
In both cases, it is very difficult for you to steer the negotiations to a conclusion. What should you do? Chapter 10 is devoted to approaches to “decision-making groups” and it might be useful to refer to it.
In face-to-face negotiations, I suggest the following:
Get Your Counterpart Personally Involved
• Develop interpersonal communications: Talk about “you and me” rather than “our companies.”
• Obtain a moral commitment from your counterpart. Too often, he is able to take refuge in group decisions, thus avoiding making a personal commitment. A few simple questions can greatly reinforce your position.
Buyer: Right, now I’ll have to wait until the committee meeting before giving you our response.
Seller: But on a personal level, Mr. Monks, how do you feel about our offer?
Buyer: It seems very attractive, but I’m not the only one making the decision.
Seller: But as far as you are concerned, you are convinced that our offer is “very attractive”?
Buyer: Absolutely!
Seller: Which elements of our offer did you find particularly attractive?
Buyer: It’s clear that your monitoring process would give us greater security…
• Give your negotiating partner the means to present and support your offer. Data packs, slides, electronic files, and informational material may help him to win the backing of the committee.
Separate Agreement in Principle and Negotiation of Secondary Issues
It is sometimes possible to exercise control over the conclusion of complex negotiations by refusing to negotiate over “secondary” issues until such time as an agreement has been reached on the core issues. This is a means of accessing the other party’s senior decision makers so as to negotiate an “agreement in principle” (e.g., regarding the product and the price). You can then deal with the various secondary issues at a subsequent meeting. However, you need to take care not to abuse the balance of power, which sometimes becomes highly favorable after the other party has given his agreement in principle.
Remember That Decision-Making Methods Are Negotiable
Except in the case of procedures relating to certain public tenders, all the in-house procedures that organizations follow in order to make sales and purchasing decisions are themselves the result of negotiations. There is a principle that says everything created through negotiation can be changed through negotiation. It is up to you to demonstrate that yours is a “special case” that deserves special treatment.