Hi Ranty Nation!  Ranty McRantyson har agin!

Well, har we’all are agin wit nuther Back to Basics (B2B) article.  As ah mentioned in the B2B, Pt 4 – How Much is a Billion Dollars? article, we’all’re gonna talk bout negotiatin.

At furst, ah thunk this har talk bout negotiatin was only gonna be one talk.  But after ah got to writin it, ah realized that doin it in two parts’d make it short nuff so as y’all cud read each in jus a few minutes.  So har be Part A!

Now y’all may be wunderin whut is negotiatin?  Like when y’all go to a flea market an such an find a lamp y’all like an the seller be askin a ridiculous price fur it, like $20.  Y’all start the negotiain over price by sayin y’all’d like it, but at $10.  They’all come back an say $17.50.  Y’all say $12.50 an they say $15 an y’all say, “Sold!”.  That thar be a fur instance of negotiatin!  Well, to put it simple like, it really be nuthin more than hagglin.  But thar’s a lot more to it than jus that!

An that be bout whut most of us dun know bout negotiatin.  But durin mah college edjumacation ah actually had a chance to take a course which was all bout negotiatin.  Can y’all imagine that?  An entire course that be bout hagglin!

The thang is that y’all “compromised” on whut y’all dun wanted.  Y’all wanted to pay $10 an the seller wanted $20.  The lamp sold fur $15, which dun mean y’all both lost, a lose-lose.  Y’all might be able to accept the price y’all bought it fur, but y’all’d be happier if’n y’all had bought it fur $10.

The best deals are when it’s a “win” fur both of y’all.  A “win-win”.

Power

Anyhoo, in negotiatin, the bunch of folk who dun has the most power usually dun win (in the vast majority of cases).  A single wurker, usually, don’t have no power an has to take whutever crappy “deal” they’s employer offers.  One of y’all vs a large corporation don’t stand no chance.  Only a union has, potentially, the power to even the scales in a wurk negotiation.  But unions are fodder fur mah next B2B talk.

So whut do y’all think counts as “power” in negotiatin?  Accordin to them expert folk, “power” when hagglin mostly comes down to three thangs.  They are:

1. Who wants it the most
2. Information
3. Money

Let’s talk bout these so as we’all can unnerstand them together an why they dun be important in hagglin.

Who Wants It the Most

Let’s go back to the fur instance above.  Let’s say y’all want that lamp purty durned bad.  But the seller don’t care much one way or nuther if’n she dun sell it or not.  So, y’all say, “Y’know whut?  Ah thunk ah’ll take that thar lamp fur $10.”  But the seller tells y’all that they have it marked at $20 an saw sumone else sell the same lamp last weekend fur $30, so they just gonna wait an see if’n they can git that $30 price or not.

Now y’all’re stuck in a quandry.  Y’see y’all don’t rightly know if’n the seller really did see the same lamp sell the week befur fur $30 or not… but y’all REALLY want that lamp an y’all don’t wanna take that chance.  So y’all tell the seller y’all’ll pay $20 right now an they don’t have to wait.  BUT the seller says she dun be purty shure they can sell it at $30 or more…

Ah, now y’all know the seller might be wantin to sell, but wants a bit of “incentive” to, y’know, change they’s mind.  So, y’all offer $25.  An the seller hems an haws a bit an acts like they be stallin, maybe hopin sumone else’ll show up to get a regular bidding war started.  Y’all REALLY don’t want that, so y’all offer them $30 as a final offer… an the seller dun accept!  So y’all walk away happy as a cat that dun caught the mouse.

But did y’all see the differnce between the original fur instance an this’n?  Cause y’all wanted the lamp so bad, y’all paid twice as much fur it as y’all did in the furst fur instance .

So this deal dun be a “lose-win”.  Y’all got the lamp (probly a gud thang), but y’all paid three times as much as y’all really woulda like to (lose).  The seller dun be happy (win) cuz they got $10 more than they dun asked fur.

Information

Let’s say that y’all saw that same lamp sell at an auction earlier in the week fur $200!  Y’all have sum infurmation that the seller don’t have.  So, y’all go through the haggle the same way as befur an git the lamp fur $30.  Well, y’all might make $170 or so fur that lamp if’n y’all wanted to sell it.  So, wit the special infurmation y’all had, y’all got the better of that haggle.

The thing is, the seller probly dun thunk they got the better of the deal, so they’s happy too!  That dun make the deal a “win-win”.  Though that seller probly be purty unhappy if’n they dun find out whut that lamp’s really wurth!

Money

Let’s say that this time the seller dun won the lottery not that long ago an was wantin to git rid of sum stuff after redecoratin they’s house.  Goin to the flea market dun bin a passtime fur her since her momma started takin her when she was a youngun.  So she dun figured she’d spend sum time at the flea market an git rid of sum stuff.

So y’all come up to her an see that lamp an start chattin wit her bout whut she be doin thar, how long she’s bin thar today, an so on, to, y’know, build a connection, figurin it’ll help y’all git a better price (an that is whut negotiaturs dun call a “strategy”, or “gimmick” or “trick” fur us regular folk) to git a better price.  Then y’all purtend to notice the lamp an ask how much.  The seller dun say it’s marked at $20.  Y’all say, “Well, ah’ll be interested in it at $10.”  An the seller says, “OK!  Sold!”

Y’see, the seller didn’t care much one way or nuther.  She wunted to spend sum time in a place she liked an then sell some stuff.  An she wanted to git paid fur some stuff she wanted to git rid of since donatin it to charity wouldn’t git her as much money.  So the seller didn’t need the money as much as y’all an sold it to y’all at yur price.  She probly figured that a good chat befur the sale was gud nuff fur her.

This dun bin a “win-win” sale.  Y’all both got whut y’all wanted an went away happy.

Anyhoo, ah’m gonna stop this’n right har an pick up wit the rest of it in Part B!

Ranty McRantyson signin off!

PS.  Ah strongly suggest y’all check out this book:  Secrets of Power Negotiating by Roger Dawson.  This was one of the “textbooks” fur that negotiatin class ah mentioned ah took at the beginnin of this har talk.  IMO, it dun be the best of the negotiatin books ah read an it has dun wurked fur me quite a few times.  Ah shud also note that ah don’t git nuttin fur recommendin this book.  Ah jus believe it to be a gud’n!