First Concession In Negotiation

When negotiating expert Chester Karrass did his original doctoral research on negotiations, he found that people who made the first significant concession tended to lose the negotiation. That result, of course, yields a very good rule for making early concessions, but it doesn't help us understand why that rule is a truth.

Enter the philosopher, Aristotle who wrote a treatise called Rhetoric wherein he established the steps to becoming persuasive. Aristotle states that the first step to becoming persuasive is to establish in the other person’s mind the completeness within which you believe in your argument.

Aristotle called this credibility ETHOS. He defined ETHOS as establishing the credential of the idea. In other words, if I want to change your mind to my way of thinking, I must first convince you that I fully believe in it.

In combining Karrass with Aristotle we understand the 'what' and 'why'. We make our first concessions small and reluctant to convince the other party that we are serious about our proposal. A large concession ruins the credential of the opening.

If I offered my pen to you for $1.00, then, under your pressure I dropped my price to $0.75, wouldn’t you conclude that I wasn't serious about my initial offer? Aren't you now thinking, "I'll hold out for $0.60; if he came down that much in one concession, there has to be more."

Our ideal first concession should be large enough to invite the other party into the process of negotiation, yet small enough to maintain the integrity of the first offer.

JSauerwein