How Do You Apply Golden Rule No. 2 When Things Get Difficult?

It is precisely under circumstances in which your counterpart is in a strong position that Golden Rule No. 2 is most crucial. The “negotiating” phase can cost you dearly otherwise. Consequently, if you are acting as a seller, you must abide by three principles:

  1. Postpone the “negotiating” phase for as long as possible by delaying announcement and discussion of the price, by arguing at length over each request for a concession, by repeating your main arguments in different ways, and by asking the customer to provide a detailed justification and evidence for each of his requests for concessions.
  2. Focus your arguments on the product (or, better still, on your customer’s needs) rather than ...

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