How to better negotiate with the devil and win

negotiating with whatever hard it can be crazed or crazed. If you have difficulty negotiating with tough negotiators (a tough nose), inconsistent negotiators (say one thing and do another) and/or with people who are very close to you (friends, associates), you may have a evil of a time negotiating with those people and still win.

The following are tips, tactics, and techniques that you can use when negotiating in situations that may be diabolical.

Tips:

When negotiating with friends, the negotiation can be devilish because you may not want to risk the friendship due to a difficult negotiation. This, in turn, can cause you to access requests that you might not otherwise commit to.

Trading Tip: When negotiating with friends, close associates, or those for whom you value the relationship more than the outcome of the negotiation, lay the groundwork for the negotiation ahead of time. This is something you would normally do when framing the negotiation (setting the agenda for what will be discussed). With people who fall into the above categories, be very careful about framing the negotiation by informing your friend or associate that you really don’t want to get into a give-and-take, because it adds value to the relationship. So you don’t want anything bad to happen to him. You can also jokingly say, “…and I don’t want you to take advantage of me, either.” With the negotiation stage set from that perspective, both of you should be able to negotiate amicably and do so while preserving the relationship. By framing the negotiation from this perspective, you will have taken the potential devil out of the negotiation.

Tactic:

I will discuss two tactics you can employ when dealing with someone who is harassing you. One mirrors, the other seems to be guided while leading, or leading from behind. These two tactics are closely linked to each other.

You employ the tactic of duplicating or leading from behind by mimicking the requests, actions, and tactics of the other negotiator. If he is being evil in the negotiation, he will quickly recognize that you are replicating his actions. This will have one of two effects on him. First, you will realize that you are in for a very long negotiation that could be a waste of time, as long as you stick to your negotiation tactic. Two, he will recognize the devil in you and change his tactics. In either case, you will have altered their perspective, which will be to your advantage.

Techniques:

When trading with someone who uses hard techniques (I win, you lose), play hard (don’t give anything unless you get something of value). With this type of personality, if you show weakness, you will most likely be treated like a lamb and taken to the slaughterhouse.

While negotiation can be daunting, if the purpose of the negotiation is worth it, stay committed. Take care of the time you invest in the negotiation. The more time you invest, the more likely you are to stay committed to concluding the deal. Doing so could cause you to make concessions that are not beneficial to your position.

You may not be able to turn all of your tormenting negotiations into angels, but by adopting the above suggestions, you can make your negotiations more heavenly…and all will be right with the world.

Remember, you are always negotiating!