When sitting down at the negotiating table to hash out a business agreement, both parties have certain goals in mind, and provided that they’re experienced, they also have certain tactics planned to reach those goals. While a winning strategy will employ strong negotiating tactics, it will also avoid some of the most common pitfalls. Rather than reviewing the most important tactics to employ, here’s a review of some of the worst tactics ever -- negotiating tactics that you should avoid.
Avoid obfuscation. Don’t seek to confuse the other party with confusing provisions. Someone may be tempted to use this tactic when dealing with an inexperienced counterpart, but it could result in a troublesome contract down the line, when the parties get into a dispute over differing interpretations of convoluted language.
Avoid ambiguity. Even worse than trying to baffle your counterpart with complexity is deliberately introducing ambiguity to certain clauses. If you’re having trouble negotiating certain points, do not just settle on ambiguous stipulations. The trouble with parking troublesome points and moving ahead is that they will usually come back into motion later, after you’ve established the contract and when the stakes are much higher.
Don’t be overly dominant. Being overly aggressive in negotiations could push the other party back on their heels and stall progress. You want to project confidence without coming across as bossy or overbearing.
Don’t show weakness. At the other side of the dominance spectrum is weakness. In an effort to appear friendly and open, you could end up appearing weak. A savvy negotiator will pick up on this and take advantage of your flexible attitude.
Don’t make up fake negotiation points. An inexperienced or weak negotiator could try to sandbag their position by inventing certain provisions for no other reason than to bargain them away for things they really want. Often, this tactic is easily detected because such points just don’t seem to make much sense in terms of the party asking for them.
Don’t bluff. Sometimes a client or even their professional representative may be tempted to bluff their way out of a sticky situation, but the risk factors of bluffing are just too high. This is especially dangerous when dealing with legal issues. “Bluffing might be the worst negotiating blunder of all,” according to Jason Chalik, a lawyer with Chalik and Chalik. “If you’re unfamiliar with an aspect of the negotiations, don’t just fake your way through. Both honesty and expertise are crucial attributes of a strong legal team.”
On the practical side, one particularly bad bluff is pretending to have a competing offer from another party. You’ll draw suspicion, first of all, and if your bluff is ever revealed, the damage to your professional reputation could be devastating. Whatever you do during contract negotiation, don’t compromise your foundation of trust by bluffing.
For the most part, successful negotiation takes common sense. If you negotiate with clarity, cordiality, and honesty, you’ll probably avoid these bad tactics naturally. Plus, knowing these tactics to avoid will help you detect when the other party is trying to use them.
