NegoLogic. Peter Frensdorf

lose the deal or win the agreement. Confront them with what they have already invested so that they realise what they have to lose unless they deal with you.

       TIP: Entice others to invest time, money and as much effort as you can get away with.

       Example

      You made it all easy for your counterpart. They get the deal handed on a silver plate. All they need to do is sign on the dotted line. You have done a great job!

      But that is not all you have done. You have invested a lot of effort and they have invested nothing. It’s easy for them to walk away.

      There is another option. You can ask them to present details, maybe travel and prepare. TEST: The more they are willing to do, the more eager they are, no matter what they tell you – this is a major sign. There are only limits if they set them. Just try how far you can take this principle.

      There are two reasons why this works so well:

      1 After investing they have more to lose.

      2 The deeper the investment the more commitment they have shown beforehand. Even when you used some “salami” (small bits at a time), the effect remains the same.

      For the next step the other party must be taken to the point of reconsideration, given room to rethink what really is the lowest they can accept or the highest they can live with. One thing should be made clear to them – changes must be made in order to conclude the deal!

      This forced reconsideration can happen to anyone, and it has not happened to me often enough in my practice. That tells me that the level of opponents I have met with over the years, many of whom were highly-educated businessmen, lacked the most basic negotiation skills to push me beyond the point that I assumed as my limit. Had they used NegoLogic, then I would often have paid more or sold for less.

       YES and NO

      This is another principle I often found lacking in practice. We assume that the other party knows that we want to deal. We are there, aren’t we? Sorry, but that is not good enough. We must explain, show and prove that we are ready to pull the trigger.

      Lord knows how many others act just like us but when push comes to shove they are suddenly lacking a mandate or have to get final approval from their bank.

      In my experience: “Just a formality” often becomes much more than that. Showing YES has a double effect.

      A) You separate yourself from others who just assume their objectives are clear.

      B) From that moment onwards the other party knows that the only obstruction to closing the deal .... is them!

      Don’t you think this creates a very strong realisation?.

       Show NO

      This is the perfect moment to stretch the boundaries of what seemed possible at first sight. Once YES has been established you must now show that you are just as willing and able to walk away if the terms are unreasonable in your eyes. Now you have created a perfectly clear picture of the possibilities where others would leave their position obscured by fog.

       Training

      Now, after teaching and training for over three years I can see that our current education system fails to prepare participants for real negotiations. Executives overestimate their skills and because there is rarely a basis for any real comparison – every single negotiation differs from every other – this dream is allowed to become a costly nightmare for the company.

      It is ludicrous to think anyone can practice successful negotiation without serious consideration, training and exercise. This common lack has enabled me to use hilarious situations¹ from my own practice as teaching and training material..

      Whenever there is serious money on the line the other party must be made to reconsider their position. This can never happen by force from outside², but as the result of reasoning coming from within.

      When it makes perfect sense and appears fair, the final result appears to be in total balance. Because of this fact anyone can be satisfied with a lesser result.

Which one of us doesn’t trust his own gut feeling?

      NegoLogic is all about exchanging values for feelings, trading assets against emotions. With both earlier examples you have seen that the same person in different situations is liable to accept different prices; more than the highest or less than the lowest.

       The worst result satisfied him, but the best didn’t.

       That person is you, me and everyone on the planet.

      Because we are all human and guilty of predictability.

      The sentence is a cash fine!

      Our thoughts can be steered like a remote car, but it is not all bad news. This acknowledgement enables us to answer a major question correctly.

       Which tool is imperative to close deals?

       The answer: Triggering the right emotions in another person.

       FACT 1: Satisfaction can be triggered by aspects other than the result

      We are so predictable when we barter that our emotions and decisions can be directed by an exact sequence of events. This is not always as easy as in my earlier examples, but brings unexpected rewards that we cannot accomplish in any other manner.

      We cannot win every negotiation, but we can improve on the status quo, change a loss into a draw, and a draw into a win and a winning situation into more than we can imagine in our wildest dreams.

Trading assets against emotions

      FOCUS: Why are we so vulnerable?

      Before you meet your opponent, you are completely in the dark. What is their position regarding the upcoming negotiation? What is their bottom line and how to find it? Will they be reasonable or impossible? Maybe they are already hooked on closing the deal with you? Then anything you give in to, no matter how small or reasonable would be seen as a gift. Do you really want to play Santa Claus?

      ELABORATE: There is no way of knowing their limits at this point, so you will feel blindfolded. All you know is that the other side opposes you and when they start pushing you in any direction, it is only a matter of time before you will lean the other way because you sure-as-bleep do not want to fall over in the direction of their choice.

      SOLUTION: So this leaning against the direction that you are being pushed is a prediction that will – at one time or another – come true. Can you see the importance of this promise?

      Because when it is you doing the pushing, you will be able to direct their actions! Just by pushing the other way.

      Does that sound like magic?

      This is just the beginning of NegoLogic.

       Winning

      The major thought on anyone’s mind? “Can we WIN the negotiation?”

      FOCUS: Hanging on to the word winning

       Which do you prefer, winning or losing?

      Even before the proceedings have started, we fully intend to win every negotiation, regardless of position, proof or arguments because humans like to win, winning feels good.

      Losers… well, they are losers. Any questions?

      ELABORATE: No jackpot in sight! So what exactly winning entails is not always so easy to determine when it comes to a subject as diverse