What are the win-lose negotiation echoes associated with the manipulation of facts?
Negotiators don’t always play cleanly. It happens that they use win-lose negotiation techniques based on manipulating facts or people. In pursuit of the goal, one’s strategy should not be based on bluffing tactics or divide and rule, because they mislead the other party, who unconsciously agrees to unfavorable terms of the contract. Every entrepreneur who intends to take part in negotiations must be able to recognize an attempt at manipulation in order to effectively defend himself against it. It is possible to use the opposite technique, which will surprise the other side, and also show it that we are not beaten in the dark and we know how to act when someone tries to influence us.
Lying is not something foreign to us. Sellers lie to their customers to sell a product. Bankers do not talk about certain terms of the contract of the banking product, which was written in small print. Bluffing, distortion of information and even silence of certain facts are a current element of everyday life, and so they also appear in business.
In negotiations, the win-lose negotiation technique is used to change the attitude of the other party or to convince them to accept our proposal. A small manipulation of facts is considered harmless if our interest is to be realized thanks to it. However, misleading the contractor is a scam. Providing false information does not allow you to look at the matter objectively and assess it correctly.
When conducting conversations at the table, we have less opportunity to influence all members of the negotiating team representing the contractor. There will always be a person (perhaps it will be a leader) who is not manipulated. At the right moment, she will be able to block the attempt to use social engineering. For this reason, some negotiators use a win-lose negotiation technique called divide and rule.
The tactic of negotiating win – lose: divide and rule consists in the involvement of several people who will conduct unofficial talks with various representatives of the contractor with whom the contract is to be negotiated. Having face-to-face conversations in a more friendly way with people who may not necessarily be able to resist persuasion on their own creates fertile ground for manipulation. Each negotiator wants only a small concession from his partner. By signing the agreement to reduce the price, the commercial director does not know that perhaps behind the wall the logistics director agrees to free delivery of the order. In this way, the opponent has already managed to fulfill two of his demands, to which the other side partially unconsciously agreed.
The defense against the technique of divide and government is simple – it is enough to prevent individual contact between the negotiators of the other party and the employees of our company.
Persons involved in the negotiations should be warned not to agree to any provisions on their own, not to sign any documents. The contractor should be informed that negotiation meetings will be held only in the presence of all members of the teams and on specified dates. Thanks to this, we will block the possibility of influencing the employees of our company.
Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.