Avoiding Time Traps in Negotiations

The hidden cost of saying 'yes' too quickly in negotiations: Around the time I started my business, I had a procurement call for a major contract. I was excited and wanted to get the deal done. But I fell into the trap of one concession after another: - First they wanted to pay less….”errr ok, I guess” - Then payment terms had to be changed…”don’t really want to, but if we must” - Then delivery times..."oh fine then!" At the end, I'd changed everything without really understanding how or why. I felt outmanoeuvred and wasn't as excited as I should have been about this new deal. The pressure to move quickly is intense - particularly in tech. But when it comes to negotiations—whether for a new role or a partnership—maybe we should slow things down. This is how I'd approach that same conversation now: 1. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. What are your true priorities? What's genuinely non-negotiable? 2. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆. A simple "Let's circle back to that" can be your most powerful tool. 3. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀. The best deals often emerge from creative problem-solving, not binary choices. 4. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲. 5. 𝗕𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆. Knowing your worth and sticking to it is far better than accepting a sub-par deal. If you're negotiating a job, this approach is crucial! Cheesy analogy, but negotiations are a bit like chess: it's not about winning every move—it's about securing the best overall position. What's your most valuable negotiation lesson from interviewing? #LinkedInNewsEurope

You don’t lose deals because you lack skill. You lose them when exhaustion makes you say, “Fine, let’s just close.”   Here’s the dirty secret about high-stakes negotiations:     Fatigue closes more deals than skill.     Not because the other side outmaneuvers you.   But because you’re too drained to fight back.     Even the best techniques crumble when your mental reserves run out.     - You say “yes” just to escape.   - You make concessions you 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 you shouldn’t.   - And introverts, I know you feel this twice as hard.     But here’s what elite negotiators know:     Endurance isn’t about lasting longer.   It’s about conserving power and using it 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.    Let me show you how:     1. Weaponize silence.   - Most negotiators fill silences to avoid tension. Don’t.   - It forces your counterpart to reveal their next move.   - Every word they say burns 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 energy and saves yours.     2. Break the rhythm.    - Negotiations are mental chess.   - When your energy dips, disrupt the flow.   - Change the topic. Request a break. Shift the dynamic.   - It puts the other side off-balance and buys you recovery time.     3. Build a decision buffer     - Here’s the rule: Never agree to critical terms on the spot.   - Instead, anchor the conversation with:     “Let me revisit this with my team.”     This isn’t a stall—it’s a recalibration. It ensures you never decide from a place of exhaustion.     4. Use their energy against them    - When you’re drained, it’s tempting to fight head-on.   - Don’t. Redirect.     Ask open-ended questions like:   “How would you justify this to your stakeholders?”     Let 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 carry the conversation while you recharge.     Fatigue isn’t a weakness.   It’s a negotiation tool—if you know how to use it.     High-level deals aren’t won by those who push the hardest.   They’re won by those who stay sharp to the end.     What’s your go-to move when fatigue sets in during a negotiation? Let’s hear it. 👇     ------------------------------ Hi, I’m Scott Harrison and I help executive and leaders master negotiation & communication in high-pressure, high-stakes situations.  - ICF Coach and EQ-i Practitioner - 24 yrs | 19 countries | 150+ clients   - Negotiation | Conflict resolution | Closing deals 📩 DM me or book a discovery call (link in the Featured section)

Don't Confuse Negotiating with Discounting. They're Not The Same thing. We've all been blindsided at the end of a sales cycle: - You’ve worked a deal for months. - You’ve got an amazing champion. - Terms are finalized. - The paperwork is out for signature. Then... 💥 It all goes sideways: - Your champion suddenly has no power. - Procurement shows up. - CFO’s name gets dropped. - A list of “budget constraints” & discount demands out of no where - Deal stalls. Shrinks. Disappears. Sound familiar? We've all been there. And it’s never fun. Want to avoid the dreaded situation described above? 💡 Here's how: 1️⃣ Start the negotiation early in the sales cycle. Don't wait for procurement to show up and crack the whip Set the ground rules up front. Let your buyer know the levers you can work with: a.) Multi-year agreements b.) Upfront payments c.) Volume commitments d.) Bundle product SKU's If they want a lower price, these are the trade-offs. No trade-off? No discount. Be clear about this from the start. 2️⃣ Focus on the Process vs the People Instead of asking "Who is the decision maker?" try "What is the decision process?" 3️⃣ Discounting is not negotiating Negotiation = give something, get something Concession = give something, get nothing 4️⃣ Track concessions like currency - It’s okay to give concessions (especially ones that don’t take money out of your pocket, ie free conference passes). - But: Make sure your buyer knows you’re doing them a solid. - Keep a running list of every concession. - Assign a monetary value to each one so your “gives” are visible & tangible 5️⃣ Make it cooperative, not adversarial. - The definition of negotiation is: two parties coming to an agreement that’s mutually beneficial. It has to be a WIN-WIN. - Keep the tone collaborative—work with your buyer, not against them I’ve learned these lessons the hard way more than once in my 20+ yrs in sales. It’s a game-changer when you make negotiation a proactive, fair, two-way process. 💬 Curious—how do YOU handle late-stage negotiations when procurement swoops in? Drop your best tactic below 👇 #TuesdayTips #ForTheLoveOfSales ____ ✨ Follow me, Jen Fraiman (Shaeffer), the #SaaSySalesCoach, for selling better through clear communication. 👉 Sales & Enablement Leaders: Ready to drive revenue by leveling up your SMB or Mid-Market sales team? DM me for details on my Workshops + Coaching Programs.

Mistakes in process, not price, derail most negotiations. Refocus on process management, not chasing final outcomes. Master a six-step framework that transforms chaotic haggling into calm, value-creating negotiations. Thirty years of global supply deals show 68 % of failures stem from poor process, not price gaps. During my two keynotes on Procurement Negotiation at last week’s "Conference on Manufacturing Management" hosted by McGill University, a group of seasoned leaders landed on one blunt truth: Performance soars when you chase process over outcome. Here's how to do it: 1️⃣ Prepare: ↳ to know what you don’t know. 2️⃣ Build trust:  ↳ Separate the person from the problem to spark problem-solving. 3️⃣ Exchange info on interests, priorities, preferences:  ↳ Hunt the motives behind positions. 4️⃣ Expand the pie:  ↳ Spot trade-offs and craft options that maximise joint value. 5️⃣ Claim your slice:  ↳ Negotiate firmly for a meaningful share of that bigger pie. 6️⃣ Write it down:  ↳ Ink a clear, implementable deal that everyone can follow. When a car battery supplier tried a 12 % hike on a client last quarter, we ran these six moves. ↳ Price dropped 3 %, delivery windows shrank, and trust spiked—because process, not pressure, did the heavy lifting. Known process, unknown outcome: control what you can, and the result improves itself. Tell us about a time shifting from outcome-chasing to process-crafting saved (or sank) your negotiation. What changed and why? Share your spin. Save this list before your next vendor call. ♻️ Pass it on if a teammate needs smoother deals. #negotiationbydesign #procurementstrategy