Procrastination Tactics In Business Negotiation

"Race against the clock" has its advantages, and "procrastinate" has its uses. The negotiators should have both magic weapons Art of negotiation 。

In business negotiation Delaying tactics , with various forms and different purposes. Because of its static braking and less defects characteristic Therefore, it has become a common tactical means in negotiations. Procrastination tactics can be divided into the following four categories according to the purpose:

　　 Clear obstacles

This is a common purpose. When the "disagreement" between the two parties causes a deadlock, it is necessary to slow down the pace of negotiations to see where the obstacles are, so as to find a solution.

Conan Doyle is the author of Sherlock Holmes' Detective Collection. He is stubborn by nature. After finishing the fourth volume of the detective collection, he insisted on not writing again. With practical actions, Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty, the criminal, fell into the abyss together and "got rid of it all". Mace, the publisher of Koch, is a shrewd man. He knows that Koch is just tired of writing such popular literature. He still likes Sherlock Holmes, who has brought great reputation and interests to the author. So while Mace firmly holds on to the copyright agency, he also works hard for Koch, revealing to him from time to time the regrets and dissatisfaction of Sherlock Holmes fans; At the same time, he was promised a generous remuneration of 1000 pounds for a story. A year later, it was successful to do both. Conan Doyle wrote again and let Holmes climb out of the canyon to perform another wonderful detective story.

Just imagine that if Mace did not give the other party a buffer time, but was anxious and pressed constantly, he would lose a brilliant star in the history of detective literature.

Of course, some obstacles in negotiations are "hidden", often hidden under various ostentatious excuses, which is not easy to be seen through at once. This requires us to delay, delay and calmly handle this situation.

D. Kirby, a famous negotiation expert of American ITT Company, once told a case that the negotiation between Kirby and S Company was nearing the end. However, at this time, the other party's attitude suddenly became strong, criticizing the negotiated agreement and putting forward various unreasonable requirements. Kirby was very puzzled because the representative of the other party was not unreasonable, and the agreement was certainly beneficial to both parties. In this case, why did Company S obstruct the signing? Colby reasoned that the negotiations should be postponed. After collecting information from all aspects, I finally learned the key: the other party believes that ITT is much cheaper than its own! Although the price was acceptable, it was difficult to accept the psychological unfairness, which led to the grounding of the agreement. As a result, the negotiation was reopened. Colby compared the prices. The other side knew that the profits of both sides were roughly the same. An hour later, the contract was signed.

In actual negotiations, there are still many hidden obstacles. To deal with them, delaying tactics are quite effective. However, it must be pointed out that this "procrastination" is by no means passive. Instead, we should collect information, analyze problems and open up the situation through the time we "procrastinate". If you wait passively, you will fail.

　 Dissipate one's will

A person's will is like a steel plate. Under a certain pressure, it may remain unchanged at first, but after a period of time, it will slowly bend down. Procrastination tactics are the company's last hope for whether such integrated circuits can be appreciated. Fortunately, a European company saw the pearl and sent three representatives to fly thousands of miles to negotiate the transfer. Sincerity seems not small, but the starting price is only 2/3 of the development cost.

The representative of the electronics company stood up and said, "Gentlemen, let's stop here today." From the beginning to the end, the negotiation lasted only three minutes. Unexpectedly, in the afternoon, the Europeans asked to reopen the negotiations, and they obviously "cooperated" a lot, so the circuit patents were transferred at a higher price.

Why do representatives of Silicon Valley companies dare to cut their own shares in negotiations? Because he knows that there are two main points in applying pressure: first, the pressure should be strong enough to let the other party know that your determination is unshakable; Second, the pressure should not be stronger than the other party's tolerance. He estimated that the Europeans had flown thousands of miles to negotiate, and would never return home just because of the three minutes. These three minute talks seemed to break the rules, but at that time and in the local area, they were the best way to let the other party lose their illusions.

In addition, as a basic means, delaying tactics can have many changes in the specific implementation. For example, some Japanese companies often adopt this approach: take a negotiator with lower authority as the pioneer, and repeatedly entangle with the other party on details, which may allow one or two steps, but each concession will require the other party to pay a lot of energy. In the end, the two sides have outlined the general outline of the agreement, but there are always one or two key points that cannot be reached, and this process is often dragged on until the other party is exhausted. At this time, an authoritative figure of our company came on the stage and said, "It's not worth dragging on any longer, let's make a little more concessions, let's do it this way!" At this time, the other party has overdrawn physically and mentally, and as long as the plan is within the acceptable range, they often agree at once. {page_break}

　　 Bide one's time

There is also a malicious use of delaying tactics, that is, by delaying time, waiting for changes in laws and regulations, market conditions, exchange rates, etc., to take the initiative and intimidate the other party to make concessions. Generally speaking, there are two ways:

First, delay the negotiation and stabilize the other party. For example, in 1986, a customer in Hong Kong negotiated fur business with a foreign trade company in a northeastern province, but the preferential terms were long delayed. In a twinkling of an eye, more than two months later, the international fur market, which had been booming, was full of goods, and the price plummeted. At this time, Hong Kong merchants again bought at a very low price, which made us suffer a big loss.

The second is to leave loopholes in the negotiation agenda and delay the delivery (payment) time. In 1920, when a yarn mill in Wuchang was established, it ordered 20000 spindles of yarn machines from Amway, a British firm, worth 200000 pounds. At that time, the exchange ratio between sterling and silver was 1:2.5, and 200000 sterling was only worth 500000 taels of silver. When British merchants saw that silver was expensive and gold was cheap, they used an excuse to delay delivery. By the end of 1921. The world financial market situation has suddenly changed, and the exchange ratio of sterling to silver has soared by 1:7. At this time, the British merchants took the opportunity to urge the yarn mill to settle foreign exchange and receive goods. The market price of 500000 taels of silver suddenly became 1.4 million taels, which made the mill suffer huge losses.

In general, to prevent malicious delay, the following work should be done well:

First, we should fully understand the reputation and strength of the other party, and even the usual tactics and past practices of negotiators.

Second, we should fully grasp the current situation and trends of relevant laws, regulations, markets and financial conditions.

Third, we should reserve a hand as a means of counter coercion. For example, gold standard foreign exchange settlement, credit guarantee and advance deposit are required.

　　 Win favor

Negotiation is a kind of controversy, a process in which both parties want the other party to act according to their own intentions. It is highly antagonistic. But now that we are together, we want to reach an agreement on matters of common concern. Persuasion and cooperation are the basis. Therefore, all excellent negotiators attach importance to winning the other party's favor and trust.

The author knows such a "expert" in negotiation. Soon after the two parties sat down, the greetings were over and the dinner was not warm. This gentleman was hospitable: "Take a rest today. Let's not talk about it. There are many scenic spots here." When the negotiation was stalemate, this gentleman suddenly became hospitable again. "Let's not talk about it. Let's invite karaoke today." So when the birds sang and the birds danced, the mood was relaxed, the feelings were harmonious, the deadlock was broken, and some off market transactions were also reached. It is said that this set of practices pursued by this gentleman is extremely effective. Many businesses that can not be talked about for many times have been completed in a short time after his three delays and two delays.

To be fair, off-site communication, as a special form of delaying tactics, plays a very important role. Psychologists believe that human thinking patterns always change with different identities and environments. The psychology at the negotiating table must be different from that in front of the Glow Cup. As an opponent, it is necessary to tit for tat, while as a friend, it is certainly a different mood to chat. When the two sides bring this harmonious relationship back to the negotiating field, it will naturally eliminate many misunderstandings and avoid many twists and turns.

However, any form of harmony must follow a principle: private friendship is the assistant of public affairs, and public affairs must not become the victim of private interests. This relates to the fundamental quality of a negotiator, which is also one of the qualities that Chinese negotiators need to vigorously cultivate.