Hard Bargaining Tactics – Seven Strategies to Deal with Negotiation Bullies
Written by Linda L. Barkacs, J.D. & Craig B. Barkacs, J.D./M.B.A.
Many people believe that the art of negotiation is about learning how to outmaneuver your opponent in order to “beat” them. They see negotiation as a series of tactics, including dirty tricks, to manipulate the other party into a deal that is most favorable to the bully. So, when you are forced to negotiate with these bullies, what should you do?
Before we get to that, just what exactly is a hard bargaining (or “hardball”) tactic? Here is a list of some of the most used hardball tactics:
Lowball/Highball – starting with an absurdly high (or low) offer that you know is unachievable
The Nibble – belatedly asking for a proportionally small concession on an item that hasn’t been discussed previously as a condition of closing the deal
Chicken – combining a large bluff with a threatened action to force the other party to concede or back down
Intimidation – examples include playing the victim, inventing, or exaggerating policies, and personal insults
Aggressive Behavior – relentlessly pushing for further concessions (e.g., “you can do better than that”); or asking for the best offer early in the negotiation (e.g., “Let’s not waste any time. What is the least you will take?”
Playing the Victim – falsely accusing the other party of mistreating you or treating you unfairly as the basis of a concession or compensatory gesture
Contrived Anger – deliberately and deceptively using anger to indicate the seriousness of a position when you are not in fact angry at all
Sound familiar? Most of us have dealt with this type of behavior in negotiations. What should you do when you find yourself on the receiving end of any of these types of hardball tactics? Here are seven ways to fend them off.
Ignore them. What gets rewarded gets repeated. Bullies use such tactics because they often work! When it doesn’t work on you, they may abandon the behavior.
Change the subject. Moving the negotiation in a different direction can ease tensions and refocus the negotiation on a more productive issue.
Walk Away. If you appear desperate, the bully will take advantage of it. Making a show of being willing to walk away shows the bully you are not going to respond submissively to their abusive behavior.
Label and discuss the tactic. A tactic revealed is no longer effective. As an example, suppose you are privately selling your car. You put an ad for the vehicle online with a well-supported asking price of $25,000. After taking a test drive, the potential buyer makes the following offer: “Look, I don’t want to waste time. I’ll give you $10,000 cash – take it or leave it.” Rather than argue the price, let the bully know that you recognize the tactic. In a calm voice, you might respond as follows: “Look, I am familiar with the concept of low-balling. That is what you’re doing, right? Now that that is out of the way, you can either make me a realistic offer or we can suspend this negotiation.”
Respond in kind/Then suggest a more productive path. If you are negotiating and realize that the other party is using a hardball tactic, respond in kind with a hardball tactic of your own. Then, in a controlled and calm voice, declare “Okay, we’ve both gotten that out of the way. Why don’t we see if we can’t find a way to move forward productively?” Responding in kind must be used with great care for fear of a situation that could escalate out of control. Please note that this response almost never works on spouses!
Co-op the Aggressor. The bully negotiator is on a roll, yelling at you, and demanding unreasonable concessions. What to do? Consider any of the following three paths – be unexpectedly charming; use verbal jujitsu (unexpectedly agree with the bully regarding something that is not consequential to the deal); or expand the pie to meet their interests, while not sacrificing your own interests (which may or may not be possible).
If necessary, endure and tolerate, then work to change the circumstances. A common problem for some companies occurs when they become overly dependent on a single source supplier. So, what do you do when there is only one source for what you need, and that supplier is starting to take advantage of the situation? You have limited options, all medium to long-term. As we see it, those options are to: a) engineer around it; b) cultivate a new supplier; or c) take it in house. Not surprisingly, sometimes all it takes is a mere mention of any of these options in front of the bully to change their attitude.
Do these strategies always work? Of course not. Which ones work best? It depends. There is no magic bullet, but these are various approaches you can try, with their success, as always, depending on who you are, who they are, and what the situation is.
Dealing with bullies is not fun and often results in your receiving the lesser end of the deal. The good news is that with a little skill and practice, you can mitigate the consequences of being bullied.