The ninth chapter in Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss is called “Bargain Hard.” This chapter discusses bother negotiating styles as well as tools and tactics for haggling.
According to Chris Voss, there are three different types of negotiating styles. It’s important to know which one you are, as well as which you are going up against. The first style is called the Analyst. Analysts take lots of time to prep for negotiation and hate surprises. When it comes to quiet parts in a conversation, the analyst takes this time to think. The next type is the Accommodator. An accommodator views the other party as his best resource, and because of this tends to do little prep before a negotiation. Often times accommodators leave a negotiation with nothing but rapport, because they like to talk to people. They often see silence in a negotiation as a sign that the other person is angry. The last style is the Assertive. Assertive types tend to view their time as money and want to waste as little of it as possible. Their business interactions are based on respect, and they need to be heard before they can listen. Assertives tend to see silence as the other party not having anything to say, and thus wanting them to say something.
When it comes to haggling, Chris says that good negotiators will anchor with a ridiculous price in order to knock the other party off their feet. Voss recommends letting the other party do this and punch first. The more information they reveal about their position, the better. As for the actual bargaining, you should use the Ackerman plan. The first step of this is to find out the actual price you want (which should always be an odd number), and then the numbers at 65%, 85%, and 95% of that number. When the haggling begins, start by lowballing or highballing them at 65%. Then let them offer back, at which point you will use your 85% number. This goes on until you reach your final price, where you should offer a nonmonetary gift, preferably something you know they don’t want. Using this method makes you seem at your wits end and that the other party has squeezed all they can out of you.
BoweryJE22
Pretty cool article. I really want to learn from this guy and get his ads all the time. The part about the Ackerman plan is new for me. I always known that you should ask for higher than what you really want but I didn’t know you should let them go first. That’s pretty smart because then you can adjust your numbers based off of that, if you’re quick at math. I also wonder why it should be an odd number? And the part about offering the non-monetary gift seems smart and I feel like I’ve seen this happen before.