Never Make a Concession

Power Negotiators know that anytime the other side asks you for a concession in the negotiations, you should automatically ask for something in return. Let’s look at a couple of ways of using the Trade-Off Gambit:
Let’s say that you have sold your house, and the buyers ask you if they could move some of their furniture into the garage three days before closing. Although you wouldn’t want to let them move into the house before closing, you see an advantage in letting them use the garage. It will get them emotionally involved and far less likely to create problems for you at closing. So you’re almost eager to make the concession, but I want you to remember the rule: However small the concession they’re asking you for, always ask for something in return. Say to them, “Let me check with my family and see how they feel about that, but let me ask you this: If we do that for you, what will you do for us?”

　　One of three things is going to happen when you ask for something in return:
1. You might just get something.

　　The buyers of your house may be willing to increase the deposit, buy your patio furniture, or give your dog a good home. The hardware storeowners may just have been thinking, “Boy, have we got a problem here. What can we give them as an incentive to get them to move this shipment up?” So, they may just concede something to you. They may just say, “I’ll tell accounting to cut the check for you today.” Or “Take care of this for me, and I’ll use you again for the store that we’re opening in Chicago in December.”
2. By asking for something in return, you elevate the value of the concession.
When you’re negotiating, why give anything away? Always make the big deal out of it. You may need that later. Later you may be doing the walk through with the buyers of the house, and they’ve found a light switch that doesn’t work. You’re able to say, “Do you know how it inconvenienced us to let you move your furniture into the garage? We did that for you, and now I want you to overlook this small problem.” Later you may need to be able to go to the people at the hardware store and say, “Do you remember last August when you needed me to move that shipment up for you? You know how hard I had to talk to my people to get them to re-schedule all our shipments? We did that for you, so don’t make me wait for our money. Cut me the check today, won’t you?” When you elevate the value of the concession, you set it up for a trade-off later.
3. It stops the grinding away process.
This is the key reason why you should always use the Trade-Off Gambit. If they know that every time they ask you for something, you’re going to ask for something in return, then it stops them constantly coming back for more. I can’t tell you how many times a student of mine has come up to me at seminar or called my office and said to me, “Roger, can you help me with this? I thought I had a sweetheart of a deal put together. I didn’t think that I would have any problems at all with this one. But in the very early stages, they asked me for a small concession. I was so happy to have their business that I told them, ‘Sure, we can do that.’ A week later they called me for another small concession, and I said: ‘All right, I guess I can do that too.’ Ever since then, it’s been one darn thing after another. Now it looks as though the whole thing is going to fall apart on me.” He should have known up front that when the other person asked him for that first small concession, he should have asked for something in return. “If we can do that for you, what can you do for us?”
Key points to remember:
1. When asked for a small concession by the other side, always ask for something in return.
2. Use this expression: “If we can do that for you, what can you do for me?”
3. You may just get something in return.
4. It elevates the value of the concession so that you can use it as a trade-off later.
5. Most important, it stops the grinding away process.
6. Don’t change the wording and ask for something specific in return because it’s too confrontational.