NIBBLE NEGOTIATING

This is part 2 of Roger Dawson's article on using the nibble technique in negotiations. If you missed part 1, please scroll down to read it first.

Look out for people Nibbling on you

There's a point in the negotiation when you are very vulnerable, and that point is when you think the negotiations are all over.I bet you've been the victim of a Nibble at one time or another. You've been selling a car or a truck to someone. You're finally feeling good because you've found the buyer. The pressure and the tension of the negotiations have drained away. He's sitting in your office writing out the check. But just as he's about to sign his name he looks up and says,

"That does include a full tank of gas, doesn't it?"

You're at your most vulnerable point in the negotiations, for these two reasons:
You've just made a sale, and you're feeling good. When you feel good, you tend to give things away that you otherwise wouldn't.

You're thinking, "Oh, no. I thought we had resolved everything. I don't want to take a chance on going back to the beginning and re-negotiating the whole thing. If I do that, I might lose the entire sale. Perhaps I'm better off just giving in on this little point."

So, you're at your most vulnerable just after the other person has made the decision to go ahead. Look out for people Nibbling on you. Making a huge sale has excited you so much that you can't wait to call your sales manager and tell her what you've done. The buyer tells you that he needs to call purchasing and get a purchase order number for you. While he's on the telephone, he puts his hand over the mouthpiece and says, "By the way, you can give us 60 days on this, can't you? All of your competitors will." Look out for people Nibbling on you. Because you've just made a big sale, and you're afraid to reopen the negotiations for fear of losing it, you'll have to fight to avoid the tendency to make the concession.

Countering the Nibble when the other person does it to you.The Counter Gambit to the Nibble is to gently make the other person feel-cheap. You have to be very careful about the way you do this because obviously you're at a sensitive point in the negotiation. You smile sweetly and say: "Oh, come on, you negotiated a fantastic price with me. Don't make us wait for our money, too. Fair enough?" So, that's the Counter Gambit to the Nibble when it's used against you. Be sure that you do it with a big grin on your face, so that they don't take it too seriously.

So, consider these points when you go into negotiations:

Are there some elements that you are better off to bring up as a Nibble, after you have reached initial agreement?

Do you have a plan to make a second effort on anything to which you can't get them to agree the first time around?

Are you prepared for the possibility of them Nibbling on you at the last moment?

So, Power Negotiators always take into account the possibility of being able to Nibble. Timing is very critical-catching the other parties when the tension is off and they're feeling good because they think the negotiations are all over. On the other hand, looking out for the other side Nibbling on you at the last moment, when you're feeling good. At that point, you're the most vulnerable and liable to make a concession that half an hour later you'll be thinking-why on Earth did I do that? I didn't have to do that. We'd agreed on everything already.

Key points to remember:
With a well-timed Nibble, you can get things at the end of a negotiation that you couldn't have gotten the other side to agree to earlier.

It works because the other person's mind reverses itself after it has made a decision. He may have been fighting the thought of buying from you at the start of the negotiation. After he has made a decision to buy from you, however, you can Nibble for a bigger order, upgraded product, or additional services.
Being willing to make that additional effort is what separates great salespeople from merely good salespeople.

Stop the other person from Nibbling on you by showing her in writing the cost of any additional features, services, or extended terms, and by not revealing that you have the authority to make any concessions.

When the other person Nibbles on you, respond by making him feel cheap, in a good-natured way.

Avoid post-negotiation Nibbling by addressing and tying up all the details and using Gambits that cause them to feel that they won.

This article is excerpted in part from Roger Dawson's new book-Secrets of Power Negotiating, published by Career Press and on sale in bookstores everywhere for $24.99.