Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

by G. Richard Shell

Negotiations follow a recognizable four-step path: preparation, information exchange, explicit bargaining, and commitment.

The first important step in preparation is committing to ambitious, specific, justifiable goals. Clarity of purpose and optimism are key attitudes to bring to the goal-setting process. A concrete, challenging goal will motivate you. You will tend to see proposals below your goal as a “loss.”

You maximize your normative leverage when the standards you assert are ones the other party views as legitimate and relevant to the resolution of your differences.

The goal of a consistency trap is to precommit you to a seemingly innocent standard and then confront you with the logical implications of the standard in a particular case—implications that actually turn out to run against your interests. This is a form of intellectual coercion, and you should be ready to defend against it.

remember the danger of concession devaluation and never give up anything (even a “little” issue) without a demonstration that the concession is meaningful to you.

The risks and costs of going forward with a bad deal are always higher than the price of giving up.

The “nibbler” modestly requests small concessions after everyone thinks the deal is done but before it formally closes.

the goal of all negotiations is to secure a commitment, not merely an agreement.

perception is reality when it comes to bargaining.

The market is a place set apart where people may deceive each other. —ANACHARSIS (600 BC)

When price is the primary issue and there are limited prospects for future dealings between the parties, there is a higher likelihood of ethical problems.

the only thing you should never compromise in negotiation is your credibility.