A study by the American Management Association of negotiation tactics found the following were the most commonly used:
1. Highball/Lowball – making an extremely high or low offer (29%)
2. The Bogey – pretending a particular issue is important (17%)
3. Snow Job – overwhelming you with too much information (12%).
4. The Nibble – asking for a small concession that wasn’t discussed previously (11%)
5. Lack of Authority – your counterpart cannot make decisions (11%)
6. Good Cop/Bad Cop – one negotiator is reasonable, the other is not (8%)
7. Deadlines – creating a false deadline that pressures you into making a decision (6%)
8. My Way or the Highway – the “take it or leave it” approach (6%).
Know these tactics when you see them and have some pre-prepared strategies for dealing with each. It will pay dividends.