“Are you cruel when you use time as a weapon in your negotiation” – Negotiation tip of the week

For the past three months, the two teams fiercely bargained with each other, they were vicious, they lost the semblance of courtesy after the first month. At times, fiery tempers had led them to cruelty. Then, out of frustration or despair, a team’s lead negotiator told his counterpart, in an extremely cruel tone, or accept our offer within the next three days or we will leave this negotiation and never come back! With that edict weather It was armD. He had unleashed a tick-tock weather bomb that would blow up the negotiation unless someone shut down the situation. And, the way he made his pronouncement left him no room for maneuver to save face.

How do you use time to advance your negotiating position? It is one of the most precious assets a negotiator has. The following thoughts are ideas for how you can use the time to improve your efforts.

Time frames:

Some negotiators try to use time to create a sense of urgency (for example, the sale ends tomorrow, get it now – I only have ‘x’ amount of time to finalize this deal). In those situations, its use is an attempt to force the opposing negotiator to take immediate specific actions. The challenge is what to do if the action sought does not occur by the established deadline; you are left in a weakened position if you must come up with a lame excuse as to why the deal is still available. Unless you’re ready to face the consequences, don’t make tough statements like the leader of team one.

When you use time frames to create a sense of urgency, allow some leeway to escape if your demands are not met. To do that, instead of setting a strict deadline (for example, the sale ends tomorrow), set a softer one (for example, the sale will end soon). The sense of urgency is not as great in the second situation, but he is less likely to back down.

Exceed the imposed deadlines:

Deadlines can lead a negotiation to a slow death. Therefore, you must be careful when they are issued. When faced with a deadline:

• Control your time: Take into account the time you spend in the negotiation. Psychologically, the more time you spend negotiating, the more likely you are to stay engaged. That can make you more susceptible to falling prey to time constraints. If you think there is no redemption in the negotiation, get out of it. And do that sooner or later.
• Control Emotions – When negotiating, the more you control your emotions, the more control you have of the negotiation. Time is a factor that weighs heavily on the mind of a negotiator. Thus, to combat it, control its perspective and the emotional stress that it generates. Never let time go unnoticed, that is a controlling factor.
• Have a backup – You can ease the pressure when you have alternative options; having them can be the escape valve for the pressure of time. If you have alternative options and you suspect that the other trader may be setting up time, do not expose your backup plans (for example, if I can’t get it from you, I can get it from the other trader, and it may be less) – Doing so may momentarily stun another negotiator, but they will also have given you another point to attack him (that is, find out how viable his backing might be). If necessary, miss your deadline and see what you do. You will lay out your strategy by revealing how honest the deadline was.

In each negotiation, negotiators look for actions to control their counterpart; the weaponry of time is one of those actions. To be more successful in your negotiations, be aware of time, know what to do when faced with deadlines, and be cautious when issuing them. Time is a negotiator’s precious commodity, use it wisely … and all will be well in the world.

Remember, you are always negotiating!

Listen to Greg’s podcast to https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator