Q & A Table of Contents
Dealing With Dirty Tricks
From: Angernie, Queensland, Australia
Question: I need some negotiation advice on how to deal with dirty tricks during buying and selling of products.
Response: Recognizing when people are attempting to use dirty tricks is the most important part of the process. If you spot a dirty trick attempt during negotiation, it is your job to call attention to your awareness of what is going on.
Don't say, "You're a 'bad guy' trying to play a dirty trick on me." A far more effective approach is to say, "I have the feeling that something strange is happening here. Could you explain what you mean when you say 'a,b,c'?" What you need to do is call attention to the fact that you are paying attention to the negotiation and that attempted tricks are not going to fool you.
If you are not judgmental, at least at first, you give the other person a chance to 'clean up his act' and negotiate more fairly. You put them on notice that tricks will not fool you. This can set the tone for better negotiation practices as the process goes forward.
Very often in real life, we discover the dirty tricks after the negotiation is over. If we have been tricked into a bad deal, we can contact the other party and say "If I had known that item x was presented inaccurately, I would have made a different decision. As it is, I feel trapped in a bad deal with you. If you are willing to re-open discussions, that can improve the present deal -- and increase the likelihood that our future dealings will be more satisfactory." You want to call attention to the value of improving the long-term relationship.
Sometimes the 'trickster' doesn't care. He or she is risking the long-term relationship with you as well as his/her reputation for fairness and honesty. In those cases, you may have to live with the consequences of having agreed to a bad deal. But you have also gained the knowledge of how one or more dirty tricks are employed and you can treat the experience as part of your learning process. It is a frustrating position in which to find yourself, but since it strengthens you for the future, it can have long-term beneficial effects.
It happens to everyone -- but hopefully only once. There's an old expression: "If you cheat me once, shame on you. If you cheat me twice, shame on me." Learn from your experience and you'll keep getting better and better.
Good luck with this.
Steve
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