Almost There: How To Move Towards The Close Of A Negotiation

How can you get the other side to wrap a negotiation up?
vHow can you get the other side to wrap a negotiation up?
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Do you remember that scene early on in the movie Star Wars when Ben Kenobi tells the Imperial Troopers that “…these are not the droids that you are looking for…” and then they walk away? It is exactly that kind of mind control that negotiators wish that they had when it comes time to wrap up a negotiation. Since the Force is not something that most of us know how to control, what’s the best way to make the other side of the table want to close the negotiations?

4 Secrets To Closing A Negotiation

What is going to make the other side of the table want to close the negotiations that they are currently involved in with you? Ultimately it comes down to them putting away their negotiation styles and negotiating techniques and having the realization that they probably aren’t going to be getting anything more out of you – all of the concessions that are going to be made have been made. Once this happens, it’s up to you to steer the negotiations towards a close. Here’s how you can make that happen.

  • Do The Right Thing: When it comes to closing a negotiation, there can be a lot of doubt in the other side’s mind – are they doing the right thing? Should they keep at it in order to see if they could get more out of you? Tell the other side that they are wise to close the negotiations now. Provide them with social proof that they are making the right decision – “…this is the point in which most of my other negotiating partners wrap things up…”

  • Fake It Before You Make It: Simply by acting as though the negotiations are over will often cause the other side to start to close. You can do this by pretending that agreement has been reached on the major issues such as price and you can start to discuss minor issues such as when delivery will occur and where things need to be dropped off at.

  • Ask: Simply by asking the other side to close the negotiations you can often make it happen. State that you believe that everything that has to be agreed to has been agreed to and ask the other side if they believe this to be true. If they agree, then you’ll be ready to start to close.

  • Use A “No” To Close: If you ask the other side if everything has been agreed to and they tell you “no”, then you now know exactly what is standing between you and closing. Work through that issue and then check to see if they are now ready to close.

What All Of This Means For You

The reason that we are willing to engage in a principled negotiation is because we want to be able to reach a deal with the other side of the table. Once the main issues have been resolved, it’s time to start to move to close the negotiations. The challenge in doing this is that sometimes the other side doesn’t realize that the negotiations are over.

In order to push the other side to start to close the negotiations, you are going to have to use psychological approaches that will convince them that it’s the right thing to do. These can include assuring them that they are doing the right thing, acting as though everything has been agreed to, asking them if the negotiations are over, and not taking “no” for an answer.

We all want to avoid the situation that we can find ourselves in where a negotiation never seems to end. When the main points that were being negotiated have been agreed to, you are going to have to take control and bring the negotiation to a close. Just tell the other side of the table that “…these are not the droids that you are looking for…”

– Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World Negotiating Skills™

Question For You: Do you think that it is ever too soon to start to wrap up a negoitaion?

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What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

Just exactly who are these negotiations being conducted with? If I asked you this question, you’d probably tell me that you are negotiating with the other side of the table. You’d be both right and wrong. The negotiation process is much more complicated and you need to understand why if you are going to reach a deal on what is being negotiated.

Who’s On The Other Side Of The Table?

When you are sitting at the negotiating table and are spending your time staring at the person who is on the other side of the table and trying to see though all of their different negotiation styles and negotiating techniques, it can be all too easy to start to view them as being the only person that you are negotiating with. In most cases, the reality is actually quite different.