Escalation can be a highly effective negotiation strategy. Having unlimited authority in a negotiation can seem, and is, powerful, but it can be equally dangerous. If your client thinks that you have unlimited authority, he or she can read that as a green light to keep driving for more.
Before the negotiation, don't make assumptions. Confirm that the client you are negotiating with has the authority to make decisions. If you learn that the client doesn't have the authority, STOP negotiating, find out who does, and politely request access to the person with the power.
If you can't get that, you will most likely be in the uncomfortable and dangerous position of being the only person in the room with the authority to make concessions. At that time or any time during the negotiation, if your client mentions that he or she must confer with someone else on a negotiation point, it often makes sense to mention that you too must confer with someone on your team.
When you are negotiating, for example, with two clients and one excuses himself or herself from the negotiating, before he or she leaves, check that the person left behind to negotiate has the full authority to continue and make decisions necessary to reach an agreement.
When you find that you must position an escalation, reinforce that you know both you and the client are working to reach agreement and your desire to work through the issues.
While your goal is to go as far as you can in a negotiation, knowing when and how to escalate can help you create Win-Win deals and protect you from entering into Win-Lose ones.
ESCALATION AS A NEGOTIATION STRATEGY - To learn more about this author, visit Linda Richardson's Website.
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Negotiation is everywhere. We negotiate for new jobs and higher salaries; for cars and homes; with our partners, siblings, and kids. Some negotiations are life changing – careers that move us from one part of the ...
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Linda Richardson
(Visit Linda's Website)
Linda Richardson is the Founder and
Executive Chairwoman of Richardso
n, a global sales training company. As
a recognized leader in the industry, she
has won the coveted Stevie Award for
Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence
and she was identified by Training
Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most
Influential Training Professionals.”
Ms. Richardson is credited with the
movement to Consultative Selling and is
the author of ten books on selling and
sales management, including Sales Coaching
— Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager
to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start
Selling. She teaches sales and management
at the Wharton Graduate School of the
University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton
Executive Development Center. Linda is a
frequent speaker at industry and client
conferences, has been published
extensively in industry and training
journals, and has been featured in
numerous publications, including The Wall
Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business,
Selling Power, Success, and The Conference
Board Magazine.
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