Negotiating

Want good treatment? Be a better customer

January 1, 2008
Want to be the sort of customer who gets priority treatment? Who regularly gets a supplier to lower their price when your exec asks for budget cuts, or compels the barista to add more whipped cream to her mocha lattés? Stick to these five behaviors that, in vendors’ eyes, make for a good customer, says Harvard Business School professor John Quelch.

Stay nimble, even when rules change

April 1, 2007
Here’s how to negotiate when conditions constantly shift.

You’ll win every game of ‘chicken’

December 1, 2006
If you want to win a negotiation, your threats to walk away have to be credible; making empty threats will only turn your whole team into losers. Here are five ways to reinforce your credibility while demanding more:

Negotiation: Use more head, less heart

November 1, 2006
Humans are not exactly rational creatures, and negotiating ranks among the least rational of our activities. Consider this explanation from researchers Keith Stanovich of the University of Toronto and Richard West of James Madison University:

Finding common ground is the key

December 1, 2004
Whether negotiating a deal or arguing your point, its much more effective to emphasize whatever you have in common with your opponent than the differences.

When negotiating, take the right side

December 1, 2004
In high-stakes negotiations, sitting across the table from your opponents ends the signal that you are enemies, not collaborators who are looking for solutions that meet both your needs.