January 8, 2024

Make Them An Offer They Must Refuse

In the KARRASS Effective Negotiating^® Seminar we talk about how you might utilize the "Bogey" as a discovery tactic to gain more information. The more you know about what's on the other party's "sheet," the more opportunities you have to find ways to create a Both-Win agreement.

There may be times when you should "make them a offer they must refuse."

Why should anyone give the other party such an offer? There are lots of reasons.

Such proposals help set the stage for making offers later that look good by comparison (i.e. help establish aspiration levels). These types of negotiation offers can serve to give you time to think things through. They can tie up the negotiation, force talks to break down, or help postpone decisions. All of these events may provide you more time which you can use to create a better agreement.

One of the best reasons for making an offer he or she can't accept is to help zero in on what is acceptable. The magic of such an offer is that it opens up a flow of conversation. When people believe that no agreement is likely, they talk more candidly with one another. It is then that real motivation and goals are revealed. After gaining this additional information, there's no reason why you cannot then follow-up with a more knowledgeable offer.

There is some risk associated with this negotiating technique, but you may find it can open up an avenue to help you arrive at a more creative Both-Win agreement. Caution is necessary – particularly if you are on the "sales side" of the negotiation. Make sure you leave yourself a way to re-enter negotiations. You want to use this technique to stop the negotiation to hopefully gain more information, but you do not to eliminate your proposal from consideration!