■ Uttering threats– ‘Agree to what I want or I’ll call out the
lads’; or ‘... I’ll take my custom elsewhere’. Never react to
such threats and never utter empty ones.
■ No negotiation under duress – ‘We refuse to discuss your claim
unless and until you cancel your overtime ban.’ An excellent
approach, if you can get away with it.
■ It will reflect badly on you– ‘Do you really want to get the
reputation of being a heartless employer?’ This is an
emotional appeal and, as such, should be discounted.
■ The bluff direct – ‘I have two or three quotations lower than
yours.’ The answer to this gambit is to call your opponent’s
bluff – ‘What are they offering for the price?’ ‘OK, why not
accept them, why bother talking to me?’
■ The leading question– ‘Do you think it is a good idea to reward
people according to merit?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Then why do you insist on
retaining this fixed incremental scheme which benefits
everybody irrespective of how well they’ve done?’ Never fall
for a leading question.
■ The piecemeal or ‘salami’ technique– In this your opponent will
try to pick off the items one by one. ‘That’s the price agreed,
now we can deliver in three months, OK?’ ‘Right, we’ve
agreed the delivery terms, now this is how we charge for
maintenance.’ Always negotiate the whole package. Don’t
allow yourself to be railroaded into a piecemeal approach.
■ The yes, but... approach– ‘Yes, we agree to accept an increase
of 8 per cent, but before we can agree to everything there is
this other problem of compensation for redundancy we must
tackle.’ To avoid being caught in a ‘yes, but’ trap, always
make offers on one part of a package conditional on
accepting another part: ‘We are prepared to consider a 4 per
cent offer but only if you agree to drop your claim for
enhanced redundancy pay.’
(d) Closing
When and how you close depends on your assessment of the
strength of your opponent’s case and his or her determination to
see it through. You may close by:
- Making a concession, preferably a minor one, and trading it
off against an agreement to settle. The concession can be
242 How to be an Even Better Manager