Negotiation Tactics and Counter-Tactics, Part IV, Gambits
Robert Menard, Certified Purchasing Professional, Certified Professional Purchasing Consultant
Editor’s Note: This is Part 4 of a 5 part series on negotiation tactics and counter-tactics. Part I presents an overview. Part 2 explains the first category of Maneuvers. Part 3 deals with Flyers, Part 4 with Gambits, and Part 5 with Ruses.
The next set of tactics is Gambits. The word derives from the slang Italian expression for tripping someone. The use of Gambits implies a more cautious approach where we raise the alert level and actively guard against traps that might be set for us, wittingly or innocently.
Gambits include
- Good Guy/Bad Guy
- The invalid Offer
- The Lesser of Two Evils
- Sacred Writings
The Good Guy/Bad Guy tactic is arguably the most barefaced. Virtually everyone has used or been abused by it. Should we then be ashamed of it? Heck no, we use it because it works. Everyone with whom I have ever done business or discussed negotiation has their favorite story about this tactic. Many involve car sales or cop movies. The common thread in all situations is that neither guy is on your side, no matter what it may seem under the individual circumstances.
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Counter this trite tactic by ridiculing it. Point out that it is so old that the first time it was tried the Dead Sea wasn’t even sick yet. If the Bad Guy is the one in higher authority, get him out from behind the curtain. Like the Wizard of Oz, he won’t seem so omnipotent without his visual aid. Don’t fall for the trap of negotiating with one or the other. Declare that you will treat them as one voice and demand that they caucus on who has the authority or ask for a third party.
The Invalid Offer is sometimes associated with shady hit and run high pressure sales routines. It is frequently coupled with the ticking clock tactic wherein you must buy within a fixed and limited time frame. It enjoys popularity in the case of impulse purchases like time share vacation property. If you exhibit the temerity of taking the time to think over a proposed fast spoken deal, your penalty is exacted in the form of a higher price.
Faced with that insult, the potential buyer immediately demands the original price and the noose is cinched. The tactic of withdrawing the offer simply reinforced the value of the time limitation tactic. By ‘allowing’ you to buy at the withdrawn offer price, the seller appears to be making a concession, thereby increasing the value of the purchase. The best way to counter the tactic is to avoid impulse purchases since you have no preparation time. Recognizing the tactic for what it is will sometimes cause the seller to drop its use.
The Lesser of Two Evils is so subtle a tactic that it hides in a niceness disguise. It happens when the sales clerk says, “Cash or credit,” and it also happens when the salesman says, “Would you like to arrange the freight or use our carrier?” In sales, this closing technique is so important it has more than one name. Two are the Presumptive Close and the Theory of Many Little Yeses. The theory presumes that an affirmative decision has already been made to buy.
The seller never wants to arm the customer with an objection so a question is phrased in a fashion that has only affirmative responses. We are not responsible for other people’s phraseology, so we redirect the conversation. To counter this tactic, we clearly indicate that we have other choices. Something like this will suffice. “Oh, did I give you the impression that we had come to a meeting of the minds? Well, let’s see if we can clear things up before we go any further.” The rejoinder serves notice that closing techniques not devoted to lowering costs need not be applied.
One of my favorite tactics is Sacred Writings. It is so effective because of the persuasive suggestion of the written word. We believe what we read, even the jaded, us skeptical purchasing types. In a cab from midtown Atlanta to the airport some years ago, on the front page of a national newspaper was a picture and obituary of a Supreme Court Justice. This judge had retired in my college years, and I could not remember if I favored or opposed his politics, but another piece of my life had slipped away. I ruminated sadly on his passing. The very next morning, in my New Orleans hotel room, I picked up the same national paper and found a picture in the errata section. It was the correct old dead judge. Nonetheless, I had firmly believed what I had read.