If you believe I have a better Plan B than doing a deal with you and can easily walk away from the table, then you will act accordingly.
You will also be more likely to respond with a very aggressive counter if you believe my initial move was outrageous.
And if you believe my deadline is false and meant to pressure you to make a snap decision, you may ignore it.
But what if these beliefs and perceptions are wrong? What if 1) I won’t walk away as I actually have a worse Plan B than a possible deal with you, 2) my initial move was tied to the market for the service, and 3) my deadline was actually real and inflexible.
What do these three examples share in common? The power and impact of perceptions – and misperceptions – in negotiations.
So how can you test your perceptions and figure out what is real versus a bluff or a misperception?
1. Don’t just accept what they say – probe deeper and harder.
Be a little skeptical. Don’t just accept your counterparts’ statements at face value. There may be a significant incentive for them to create a misperception in the negotiation.
The counter? Ask more questions. Find out more information. And do this especially on statements and/or moves with major possible impacts on your negotiation, like their true interests, Plan Bs, offer-concession moves, and agenda-related items like authority, timing and deadlines.
Then confirm your conclusions with independent research. Ask others about their negotiation reputation. Assess the fairness of their moves by checking out the objective criteria and benchmarks in the field, like market value, precedent, costs, etc.
2. Ask why.
“Why do you think your offer is fair,” you should ask, “especially as it would be unprecedented for a company like ours to agree to this.”
“I don’t understand the rationale underlying your position that we should limit your liability to X on this deal. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Help me understand where you’re coming from.”
“I know it would cost you thousands of dollars to walk away from this deal and that you’re pretty risk averse. So why do you keep threatening to walk? Did another company make you a better offer recently?”
3. Listen really carefully to what they say – and don’t say.
The most important response to your question may not be what they say – but what they don’t say! Pay super close attention if you ask something critical and your counterpart tries to change the subject, answers your question with a question, or responds with a longer than normal pause or a non-answer.
The use of blocking techniques often tells you something crucial – the real answer to your question almost certainly helps you and hurts them. There is a reason they won’t answer.
Assuming this is true, incorporate their non-answer into your strategy. If they tell you they have a great Plan B, but won’t tell you about it, then it’s probably not so great. And if they tell you that issue A is not very important to them, but then take a hard line and won’t concede on it, then it’s probably more important than it appears.
Latz’s Lesson: Test your perceptions in negotiations by asking more and deeper questions, including why, and carefully listening to what they say and don’t say.
* Marty Latz is the founder of Latz Negotiation, a national negotiation training and consulting company that helps individuals and organizations achieve better results with best practices based on the experts’ research. He can be reached at 480.951.3222 or Marty@LatzNegotiation.com.