The Exposé! This Is What ‘They’ Have Been Doing To You All This Time!
The Buyers Negotiation Guide. An Exposé!
The Weekly Walkaway highlights negotiation in its ‘good’, ‘bad’ and sometimes ‘downright ugly’ forms. Issue No. 60 (26th January 2024).
Remember: You are a negotiator!
You are always managing some form of conflict, a difference of opinion or interest.
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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
This Is What ‘They’ Have Been Doing To You All This Time.
The Buyers Negotiation Guide! An Exposé
I was doing some January spring cleaning and came across this beautiful nugget.
I can't remember where I got it, it’s a very old photocopy and probably given by one of my ‘procurement’ contacts, back in the day.
Anyway, this is for all of you out there who believe your counterparts have your best interest at heart; who think they are fair, friendly and wouldn't ever exploit you.
NOTE: I’ve edited the guide somewhat; correcting the grammar and replacing old for new, for example, I’ve taken all the he / his and replaced with they / them / their.
This gives you an idea of how old the guide is.
It is also worth noting that the guide was originally a Retail / Grocery Buyers guide so I’ve taken some writers' licence and made it more relevant to our world.
The reality is though that this is a real guide given to new buyers. Those buyers would now be Directors and would have mentored and taught generations of negotiators.
This is what ‘They’ are doing to you and have been doing to you all this time!
Read and enjoy, but please be careful not to spit your coffee out in shock and please feel free to comment..
The Buyers Guide
Never show sympathy to a supplier, but tell them they are a partner;
Ask. Ask. Ask until they give in;
Never ever accept their first offer, wait until the vendor begs;
Always say “you can do better than that”;
Always use the lowest possible prices you can think of, and keep asking for more until the vendor stops giving;
Always be subordinate (disempowered) to someone else (who makes the decision) and consider that the salesperson always has a boss who can give a greater discount;
When a vendor gives in easily, leave, go to the bathroom or make a phone call; consider that they have already given in, and that they can give even more;
Photo by Elimende Inagella on Unsplash Be intelligent but act dumb, ask a lot of questions to which you already know the answers;
If a supplier delays in giving an answer or making appropriate concessions tell them that you are close with another competitor;
Avoid that supplier who reads our information in our office. The more uninformed they are the better for us;
Never act impressed with a vendor for new services or innovation. We never want to give them the idea we are more prepared to negotiate;
Whether a vendor is young or old, new or experienced, remember that old are experienced and think they know everything and young and new are inexperienced;
If a vendor arrives with a superior (a boss), ask for more information, more documents, more data, just more and threaten to throw them out if you don’t get it. The superior (the boss) will not want to lose face or the deal or us, the customer, in front of a junior. Use their ego against them;
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash Whenever a competitor of your suppliers has agreed to better terms, ask the other suppliers to do the same conditions;
Never ever make a unilateral concession. Always ask for something in return;
When a vendor arrives ‘asking’, know they have something to give;
Remember, when a vendor does not offer, they are waiting, hoping, you don't ask for something in return;
Remember, a salesperson who makes general, or suggested proposals, is generally more organised and experienced. Use their time to explore the offers of disorganised competitors who want to be a supplier, or those who are afraid to lose our business;
Don't always use a single supplier, always play one off against the other;
Never forget that 80% of the conditions and concessions are obtained in the final stages of negotiations because at the end the vendor is afraid to lose the deal;
Remember that we need to obtain the maximum information about the personalities and habits of the vendors who visit us, discover their weaknesses and use them;
Always convince a vendor to participate in our RFP’s. Promise high volume for the maximum discount you can get. Demand fast and immediate action.
Photo by Torsten Dederichs on Unsplash Destabilise the supplier;
request impossible things;
threaten to break off negotiations at any moment;
Let them wait;
Make an appointment and don't show;
Have another competing vendor pass in front of them;
Threaten to remove them from the preferred suppliers list;
Threaten to reduce their access, volumes or time;
Throw their on-site people off site;
Give them little time to decide;
Make calculations, even false ones, until the vendor gives more.
Never let any impasse, deadlock, in a negotiation to continue. There is nothing worse for buyers than deadlock;
Think of building their profit margin like a devil thinks of building a cross;
Photo by Sean Mungur on Unsplash Finally, remember. Never forget the golden rules of a good buyer:
Don't waste time with the professional sales people. Invest your time with the unprepared ones. Never be afraid of big names brands (behind a big name brand you may well find an unprepared salesperson who only counts on their brand). Invest your time with salespeople who never make calculations, who give in easily, who want to get ‘in’ or are afraid to lose the business.
Conclusion
In this exposé, uncovering the Buyer's Negotiation Guide, a relic from the Jurassicprocurement era, I’ve offered you a chuckle-worthy insight into the art of negotiation from the perspective of a buyer, probably back in the 90’s.
This was a whole generations bible. Their key to success.
Note the, treating you like a partner (but not really) and the asking, asking, asking until you surrender in defeat. How they are prepared to type in ludicrously low prices!
How about the ‘be intelligent but act dumb’ bit or for some of you I’m sure the pièce de résistance will be their use of psychological warfare;
Threatening, destabilising, making impossible requests, and throwing in a fake calculation or two until you beg for mercy.
This, slightly edited and adapted Buyer's Negotiation Guide is a gift that will keep on giving.
So, next time you negotiate, just remember: deadlock is a buyer's worst nightmare, and helping to build your profit margin is as diabolical as a devil constructing a cross!
Happy negotiating, peeps!
Have you got any additions? What would you add to the list?
#NavigatingBetterNegotiatedOutcomes
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