Saturday, February 23, 2008

Recognizing faults that can trip you up

People use three statements when a negotiation goes badly because they failed to find out something negative about the person whom they negotiated with.
  • “Nobody told me!”
  • “Who knew?”
  • “I wish I woulda known!”
Never say those words again. When you use these phrases, you’re missing a good opportunity to learn an important lesson: Get to know the person you’re negotiating with before you make a deal with them. If a negotiation goes sour because you got into a deal with someone who was unethical or dishonest, you should say:
  • “I screwed up. I didn’t investigate enough.”
or
  • “I saw some signs and I ignored them.”
Failing to find out enough about the person with whom you’re negotiating is the most common mistake people make in the preparation phase of a negotiation. In fact, people repeat that oversight every day all across the country when making the largest purchase of their lives: the purchase of their own family home.

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