Buyers with budgets (or even without budgets) feel in a strong negotiating position in many markets right now. In this Blog we explore some of the negotiation strategies and tactics they are trained to use.
1. The budget bluff
“That is all I have in my budget and so that is all I can afford to pay.”
2. The squeeze
“Your competitor(s) are much less than you.”
3. The reverse auction (online)
“OK suppliers – here is a list of all your prices on screen. Would you like to submit a better offer?”
4. The gentle touch
“You are a really nice company and I would like to give you the business so I will be absolutely honest with you. Here is what you need to beat…”
5. The trawl
“There is a ton of business to be done. Give me a really good initial deal and you will be in line for all the rest of it.”
6. The slow boat
“There are lots of things to be discussed with you and I have to consult many of my colleagues about them all. Let’s line up some more meetings over the next few weeks. There’s no hurry is there?”
7. Buy now bargain later
“Let’s get started straight away. We can always sort out the contract and the details later.”
8. Good guy/bad guy
“My colleague isn’t really as unreasonable as he sounds – he just always demands a good deal and speaks his mind forcefully! Let’s you and me sort out a good deal and I will try and sell it to him.”
So how many of these do you recognise?
Expert buyers are trained to do them to you without you even noticing! So first learn to identify the negotiating tactics and strategies that are being used on you and then learn your own negotiating tactics and strategies for responding to them and achieving a win/win negotiated result.
If you or a member of your team would like to develop your negotiation strategies and tactics and learn how to protect your profits take a look at our Profitable Negotiation course.
