subject: Being A Clever Negotiator When Buying A Home [print this page] If you are thinking of buying a new home, before you make an offer you need to be sure you know how to negotiate! The last thing you want is to be taken advantage of.
To begin with, learn how to get the other guys to commit first. Power negotiators know that you are usually better off if you can get the other side to commit to a position first.
If they do, their first offer may be much better than you would have expected. Also, it gives you the information about them that you need, before you have to give them any information of your own.
It enables you to bracket their proposal. If they state a price first, you can bracket them, so if you end up splitting the difference, you will get what you want.
If they can get you to commit first, they can then bracket your proposal. Then if you end up splitting the difference, they get what they wanted.
The less you know about the other side or the proposition that you are negotiating, the more important the principle of not going first becomes.
Be sure that you are acting smart. To power negotiators, smart is dumb and dumb is smart.
When you are negotiating, you are better off acting as if you know less than everybody else does, not more. The dumber you act, the better off you are, unless your apparent I.Q. sinks to a point where you lack any credibility.
There is a good reason for this. With a few rare exceptions, human beings tend to help people that they see as less intelligent or informed, rather than taking advantage of them.
Of course, there are a few ruthless people out there who will try to take advantage of weak people, but most people want to compete with people they see as brighter and help people they see as less bright. So, the reason for acting dumb is that it diffuses the competitive spirit of the other side.
How can you fight with someone who is asking you to help them negotiate with you? How can you carry on any type of competitive banter with a person who says, "I don't know, what do you think?"
Most people, when faced with this situation, feel sorry for the other person and go out of their way to help him or her.
The negotiators who let their egos take control of them and come across as a sharp, sophisticated, negotiator commit to several things that work against them in a negotiation. These include being a fast decision-maker who does not need time to think things over, someone who would not have to check with anyone else before going ahead, and someone who doesn't have to consult with experts before committing.
This is someone who would never stoop to pleading for a concession, and who would never be overridden by a supervisor. Someone who does not have to keep extensive notes about the progress of the negotiation and refer to them frequently is the kind of person you want to be.
The power negotiator who understands the importance of acting dumb can request time to think it over so that he or she can thoroughly think through the dangers of accepting or the opportunities that making additional demands might bring. They can also defer a decision while he or she checks with a committee or board of directors.
Asking for time to let legal or technical experts review the proposal, and pleading for additional concessions is another benefit of playing dumb. Try using the good guy/bad guy routine to put pressure on the other side without confrontation.
Try taking time to think under the guise of reviewing notes about the negotiation. Be careful that you're not acting dumb in your area of expertise.
If you're a heart surgeon, don't say, "I'm not sure if you need a triple by-pass or if a double by-pass will do." If you're an architect, don't say, "I don't know if this building will stand up or not."
Win-win negotiating depends on the willingness of each side to be truly empathetic to the other side's position. That is not going to happen if both sides continue to compete with each other.
Power negotiators know that acting dumb diffuses that competitive spirit and opens the door to win-win solutions. With this information, you can get the house of your dreams, for a price you can afford.
