B2B Street Fighting Blog

opening offers do impact negotiation

Posted by Brian Dietmeyer on Thu, Apr 19, 2018 @ 03:57 PM

My friend and former colleague, Max Bazerman, negotiation professor at the Harvard Business School, once reported to me that:

“Opening offers have more impact on outcomes of a negotiation than all counter-offers combined!”

I couldn't agree more, however, I believe to really understand the weight of the impact, it is important to understand the complexity inside that statement. (It is more than you might initially detect!)

For starters, think about these questions:

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Tags: negotiation skills for sales, brian dietmeyer, negotiation tips

the toughest negotiation tactic ever

Posted by Brian Dietmeyer on Mon, Feb 19, 2018 @ 04:23 PM

After 22 years consulting on over 25,000 business negotiations in over 46 countries, we’ve heard a lot of negotiation tactics. All are attempts at commoditization and driving more concessions from the seller; some are more difficult than others.

A recent client was negotiating with their largest customer, a $60b Fortune 50 firm in the manufacturing business. Our client produces bleeding edge tools and software for manufacturing. In fact, they very often have tools that increase yield and reduce defects ahead of the market. This position gives them real power in negotiation. However, during the negotiation, their buyer, in a very angry and aggressive manner ended the negotiation proclaiming:

“If you don't give us what we want, we will fund a start-up competitor to you!”

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Tags: business negotiations, negotiation tips, business relationships in sales

5 creative ways to improve your business negotiation skills now

Posted by Marie Dudek Brown on Fri, Aug 01, 2014 @ 04:06 PM

We all negotiate something everyday, from huge, complex business deals to perhaps where to go to dinner with a group of friends, or bedtime with our child. Some of us feel much more confident than others and yet, there may be something more for all of us to learn.

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Tags: negotiation skills for sales, negotiation tips