Death To Deadlines! (Ours Not Theirs)

It is one of life's great truths: deadlines make things happen in negotiations. I'm speaking only for myself, but I suspect that many others would agree that if I can, I'll wait as long as possible before I finally get around to making a decision. Case in point: I've got a high school reunion notice sitting on my desk and I still haven't made up my mind if I'm going to attend. I've got one more week to make up my mind and I'll probably only make my decision on the very last day!

The good thing, sorta, about deadlines is that they create pressure to close. Trust me on this, if it were not for deadlines negotiations could end up taking longer than they already do. The problem with deadlines is that when we are negotiating we tend to be more aware of our time limits rather than those on the other party. Everybody has time limits and we need to be more aware of that. If we focus on just our limits, then this will lead us to under use the strengths that we have and to, unfortunately, overestimate the strength of the other side of the table. Before entering a negotiation, we need to get answers to three deadline related questions:

• What Deadlines Are On The Other Party? This is the ultimate question to get an answer to. If you are negotiating to buy a car, the time that the dealership closes will definitely be a deadline for the other party. Get creative and crawl inside the other party's skin and spend some time thinking like they do in order to create a list of their possible deadlines.
  
  
• What Deadlines Has Your Organization Put On You? This is almost as important as the first question. You need to know what kind of limitations you are dealing with. If you have more time to negotiate then the other side, then great. If not, then you are already in a bind even before the negotiations start.
  
  
• Is It Possible To Renegotiate The Deadlines That Have Been Put On You? Although not always realized, this is a critical point. Just because you have a deadline, does not mean that you have to live with it. Often times internal deadlines have been created somewhat arbitrarily and can be easily changed. If you can move your deadlines out beyond the other sides deadlines, then you will be in an excellent position even before the negotiations start.
  
  

So the key here is to realize that everything in life (including life itself) has a deadline associated with it. As long as you do your research and at least guess at what the other side's deadlines are, then you'll be in good shape to negotiate from a position of strength.


Tags: deadlines , strength, negotiation, renegotiate

Demands & Deadlines: Your Two Best Friends

All too often when we are negotiating both in real life and in business, demands and deadlines show up. Since most of us have never been trained on how to deal with these issues, we tend to do the easiest thing: panic. May I suggest a different approach: ignore them.

Unless you are actively involved in a hostage negotiation, you probably won't be handed a list of demands. Instead, they will show up in more subtle ways. Casual statements like "This is a must have" or "I really don't have any flexibility on this issue" are the nice way of saying "this is a demand" in polite company. Instead of panicking, great each veiled demand as an old friend. The other side has just revealed a point that is important to them. The actual demand does not matter that much, what really matters is the reason for the demand. If they say they they need the delivery by Friday, then forget the demand and focus on why they need the delivery by then. Who is waiting for the delivery? Why do they need it then? Every demand is a step in the right direction because you now have a better idea about what key points the eventual solution must address.

Same thing goes for deadlines. If the other side says "we've got to wrap this up by 10 pm or we'll have to walk" then the question is why? What is their best alternative? What is so special about 10 pm? Why not continue tomorrow? Remember that most deadlines are garbage and the other side may be using them as part of a fairly poor attempt at moving the deal to a close. Ignore the deadline and move on. If they are interested in doing a deal, they'll end up ignoring it also.

If you end up giving into one or more of their demands or meeting one of their deadlines, make sure that you get something for it. Tit-for-tat. Make sure that the other side does not see you as being weak and giving in. Instead, keep the give and take balanced through the negotiations.