Five ways to handle the other side’s biases
Suppose a negotiation is at a deadlock. Can you objectively analyze the causes? Often there is a tendency to blame the other side’s opinions for the impasse. Such assumptions will not help a negotiation move forward.
In my book, “The World is a bazaar. Life is a negotiation, ” I encourage the reader to ask questions to test assumptions, confirm facts, and make sound proposals. Some self-claimed experts will tell you to use the other side’s faulty opinions to your advantage. It is better to confront their mistakes and diffuse them.
Here are some ways to neutralize the biases of the other side and improve the negotiation outcomes.
- Promote objectivity
When your counterpart is affected by unsound opinions, he’s likely to take positions not in either party’s interest. Here are two suggestions to help the other side think clearly.
Adjourn. Give the other party time to think about your proposal. Encourage them to research the facts and think through their BATNA. Under time pressure, negotiators often say ‘No’ when they should say ‘Yes.’
Share your priorities. Tell them your preferences, invite them to share their priorities, and then link and trade.
Suppose the other side demands an exclusive supply arrangement. Rather than simply saying no, use skills like “Off-Limits,” also known as “Out-of-Bounds,” surrounding a non-negotiable item(exclusivity) with areas of flexibility.
- Avoid the caravan mentality.
In a caravan, everyone is moving in a herd-like manner. It is easy, safe, and predictable. You are going on a set, familiar path. But, moving into a group, you lose your capacity to change. Whether a change is minor or significant, many will resist.
Often experienced professionals follow established practices, emulate the behaviors suggested by academicians, and do things the way they usually do. They use years of experience as a crutch to support their positions.
Experience is valuable. But experience accompanied by critical thinking is far more beneficial. Instead of following common wisdom, think critically and apply findings to your negotiations.
- Propose Contingent Agreements
Sometimes the best way to manage what the other side expects is to give them what they want with some conditions attached. I have addressed the benefits of contingent agreements in my book, “The World is a Bazaar. Life is a Negotiation.”.
Contingent agreements with incentives and sanctions can increase the odds of compliance with a deal. They allow you to use the other side’s demands in a negotiation.
You are a marketing analytics company. One of your customers wants an advisory report in a week. She promises to supply raw POS data on time. You are sure she cannot because of her company’s track record. But she insists that her company will. In this case, you can trade her opinion with yours. If she is good with her commitment, you may agree to deliver the marketing advisory report within the standard delivery period, which is one week. But, if she is late in supplying the raw data, you will determine the new delivery date for the advisory information.
Rather than challenging her opinion, trade your opinion with her position and construct a contingent agreement.
- Explore credible estimates
At times, a party with conflicting opinions in the negotiation is not you or your opponent but someone on your team, a common situation when you sell your house. The agent may be recommending a price to win your business irrespective of the price optimal for sale. So, how do you handle that? It is easy to get price estimates from multiple credible sources online. These estimates use comparable sales in the most recent six months. Then select an agent that is closest to the most likely price.
- Leverage signals
Negotiators often give signals, consciously or unconsciously. Do not punish those signals. Reciprocate them with your gestures identifying the areas of flexibility.
If a negotiator punishes a signal, the other side will stop giving hints, and the negotiation could enter into a circular argument. The result is a situation that will often lead to a deadlock.
Recognize when a negotiation is entering into a circular argument. Propose an adjournment to think about the information shared by the parties so far.
Before adjourning, summarize the current status and share with the other party what you will think about and recommend the issues for their focus.
