Every request for a concession calls for pushing the pause button. Your moment of reflection gives the concession some significance. You must treat the concession as significant, or you aren’t perceived as having made a concession — the other party doesn’t realize he or she has gained anything. No concession is unimportant. By emphasizing each concession in your own mind, you have not given ground for naught. This is not just an act. A pause, no matter how slight, before making a concession gives you an opportunity to be sure it’s the right thing to do in addition to giving the concession some importance. You want to be sure that you always have something left to give up in order to hold onto what is important to you.
The obvious and easiest example is conceding a price too quickly. Too often, a quick concession robs the other party of the good feelings that she rightfully deserves after making a good bargain. It leaves the other party feeling that she priced the article too low and that she could have gotten more if she’d been smarter. Although that may be true, what advantage is it to you that she feels that way? None. Worse, now she’s out to prevent that mistake from occurring the next time you negotiate, or she compensates by taking a hard line on another aspect of the deal. Giving a concession too quickly can have ramifications across the board.
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