January 5, 2024

Leaving Room To Negotiate

Today you and I will negotiate with someone. Everyone does. Everyday. The year will bring you many, many negotiations!

You may negotiate with your boss, a co-worker, a salesperson, a customer, or a government agency. It could even be your spouse or your children. The many KARRASS negotiating guidelines, techniques, strategies and tactics you learned when you attended the KARRASS seminar will help you in every one of these negotiations.

Please do not forget one of the most fundamental and important negotiation topics I discuss in my work – "Leave Yourself Room To Negotiate."

You would be surprised how easy it is to overlook this basic element. This is something that really impacts your ability to achieve a satisfying agreement – for both parties.

All of my research has proven that people who give themselves room to negotiate do better than those who don't. If you are looking to buy something you will do better if you make a low initial offer. If you want to sell someone a product, service, idea, concept, or change-of-policy, start out with high demands.

The case for high demands and slow, reluctantly given concessions is a strong one. They help reduce the other person's aspiration level. Together, they give you a chance to test the strength of the other person and their willingness to stand firm. They also help you gather valuable information about the other person's position and feelings. This information is important – it helps you identify "both-win" opportunities.

Wherever you decide to start your negotiation – have a good, logical reason for starting where you do. This helps avoid an appearance of flippancy. When you give yourself room to negotiate, you may discover that you are better off than you thought.