CHAPTER 8

WHAT IF THEY
USE DIRTY
TRICKS?
(Taming The Hard Bargainer)
There are many tactics and tricks people can use to try to take advantage of you. Everyone knows
some of them. They range from lies and psychological abuse to various forms of pressure tactics. They
may be illegal, unethical, or simply unpleasant.

Such tactics may be called “Tricky Bargaining”

WAYS TO RESPOND TO TRICKY
BARGAINING
If you recognize that a tricky bargaining tactic is being used against you, you may respond in two
ways.
first response is to put up with it. You may give the other side the benefit of the doubt or get
angry and promise yourself never to deal with them again. For now, hope for the best and keep quiet.
Second response is to respond in kind. If they start outrageously high, you start outrageously
low. If they make threats, you make counterthreats.
Such tricky tactics are illegitimate because they fail the test of reciprocity. They are designed to be
used by only one side; the other side is not supposed to know the tactics or is expected to tolerate them
knowingly.
 HOW DO YOU NEGOTIATE ABOUT THE
RULES OF THE GAME
There are three steps in negotiating the rules of the negotiating game
where the other side seems to be using a tricky tactic: recognize the
tactic, raise the issue explicitly, and question the tactic’s legitimacy and
desirability negotiate over it.
 You have to know what is going on to be able to do something about it. Learn to spot
particular ploys that indicate deception, those designed to make you uncomfortable, and those which
lock the other side into their position.
After recognizing tactic, bring it up with the other side. Discussing tactic not only make it less
effective, it also may cause the other side to worry about alienating you completely. Simply raising a
question about a tactic may be enough to get them stop using it.
The most important purpose of bringing the tactic up explicitly, is to give you an opportunity to
negotiate about the rules of the game.
ALWAYS REMEMBER:

• Separate people from the problem, don’t attack people personally for using tactic you consider
illegitimate. Question the tactic, not their personal integrity. It will be easier to reform negotiating
process than to reform those with whom you are dealing.
• Focus on interest, not positions
• Invent options for mutual gain
• Insist on using objective criteria
Above all, be hard on principle. Frame the principle behind each tactic as proposed “rule” for
the game. As a last resort, turn to your BATNA and walkout.
SOME COMMON TRICKY TACTICS

Tricky tactics can be divided into three categories: deliberate

deception, psychological warfare, and positional pressure
tactics.
You should be prepared to deal with all three.
DELIBERATE DECEPTION

The most common form of dirty trick is misrepresentation about facts, authority, or intentions.
Phony facts is the oldest form of negotiating trickery to make knowingly false statement.
However, always remember to separate the people from the problem. This does not mean calling him a
liar; rather it means making the negotiation proceed independent of trust. Do not let someone treat
your doubts as personal attack.
Ambiguous authority. The other side may allow you to believe that they, like you, have full
authority to compromise when they don’t. This technique is designed to give them a “second bite at
the apple.”
 This is a bad situation to fall into. If only you have authority to make concessions, only you make
concessions.
Do not assume that the other side has full authority just because they are negotiating with
you. Before starting on any give-and-take, find out about the authority of the other side. It is perfectly
legitimate to inquire.
If they do announce unexpectedly that they are treating what you thought was an agreement as a
basis for further negotiation, insist on reciprocity.
Dubious intentions. Where the issue is one of possible misrepresentation of their intention to
comply with the agreement, it is often possible to build compliance features into agreement itself.
However, Less than full disclosure is not the same as deception. Deliberate deception as to
facts or one’s intentions is quiet different from not fully disclosing one’s present thinking. Good faith
negotiation does not require total disclosure.
PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE
These tactics are designed to make you feel uncomfortable, so that you will have a subconscious
desire to end the negotiation as soon as possible.
Stressful situations. You should be sensitive to such modest questions as whether a meeting takes
place at your place or theirs, or on a neutral territory. Contrary to the accepted wisdom, it is sometimes
advantageous to accept an offer to meet on the other side’s turf, it will be easier for you to walk-out.
If, however, you allow the other side to choose the physical environment, be aware of what that
choice is and what effects it may have. Be aware that the setting might have been deliberately
designed to make you wan to conclude negotiations promptly and, if necessary, to yield points in order
to do so.
If you find the physical surroundings prejudicial, do not hesitate to say so.
 Personal attacks. There are also ways for the other side to use verbal and nonverbal
communication to make you feel uncomfortable. They can comment on your clothes or your
appearance. They can also attack your status by making you wait for them or by interrupting the
negotiations to deal with other people.
Recognizing the tactic will help nullify its effect; bringing it up explicitly will probably prevent
recurrence.
The good-guy/bad-guy routine. One form of psychological pressure which involves deception is
the good-guy/bad-guy routine. This technique appears in its starkest form in old police movies.
The good-guy/bad-guy routine is a for, of psychological manipulation. If you recognize it, you
won’t be taken in. When the good-guy makes his pitch, just ask him the same question you asked the
bad-guy.
 Threats. Threats are one of the most abused tactics in negotiation. A threat seems easy to make –
much easier than an offer. All it takes is a few words, and if it works, you never have to carry it out. It
is a pressure, and pressure often accomplishes just the opposite of what it is intended to do; it builds
up pressure the other way.
Good negotiator rarely resort to threats. They do not need to; there are other ways to communicate
the same information.
For threats to be effective they must be credibly communicated. Sometimes you can interfere with
the communication process. You can ignore threats, take them as unauthorized, spoken in haste, or
simply irrelevant.
Positional pressure tactics. This kind of bargaining tactic is designed to structure the situations
so that only one side can effectively make concessions.
 Refusal to negotiate. What can you do when the other side refuses to negotiate altogether? First,
recognize the tactic as a possible negotiating ploy: an attempt to use their entry into negotiation as a
bargaining chip to obtain some concession on substance.
Second, talk about their refusal to negotiate. Communicate either directly or through third parties.
Don’t attack them for refusing to negotiate, but rather find out their interest in not negotiating.
Finally, insist on principles.

Extreme demands. Negotiators will frequently start with extreme proposals. The goal is to lower
your expectations. They also figure that an extreme initial position will given them better end result.
Bringing the tactic to their attention works well here. Ask for the justification of their position
until it looks ridiculous even to them.
 Escalating demands. A negotiator may raise one of his demands for every concession he makes
on another. He may also reopen issues you thought had been settled.
When you recognize this, call it to their attention and then perhaps take a break while you
consider whether and on what basis you want to continue negotiations. This avoids an impulsive
reaction while indicating the seriousness of their conduct. Again, insist on the principle.

Lock-in tactics. It is a well-known example of two dynamite trucks barreling toward each other
on a single-lane road. Also, this tactic is common in labor-management and international negotiations.
But, lock-in tactics are gambles. You may call the other side’s bluff and force them to make a
concession which they will then have to explain to their constituency. Like threats, lock-in tactics
depends on communication.
 Hardhearted partner. The most common negotiating tactic used to justify not yielding to your
requests is for the other negotiator to say that he personally would have no objection but his
hardhearted partner will not let him.
Recognize the tactic, rather than discussing it with the other negotiator, you may want to get his
agreement to the principle involved – perhaps in writing – and then if possible speak directly with the
“hardhearted partner.”

A calculated delay. One side will try to postpone coming to a decision until a time they think
favorable. In addition to making delaying tactics explicit and negotiating about them, consider creating
a fading opportunity for the other side.
Look for objective conditions that can be used to establish deadlines.
 “Take it or leave it.” There is nothing inherently wrong with confronting the other side with firm
choice. This is an efficient method of conducting business, but not negotiation. It is not interactive
decision-making.
As an alternative to explicitly recognizing the “take it or leave it” tactic and negotiating about it,
consider ignoring it at first. Keep talking as if you don’t hear it, or change the subject perhaps by
introducing other solutions.
DON’T BE A VICTIM
It is often hard to decide what it means to negotiate in “good faith.” People draw the line in
different places. It may help to ask yourself questions, and these questions are not intended to bring
external opinion to bear so much as to shed light on your own internal values.
You must decide on your own whether you want to use tactics you would consider improper and
in band faith if used against you.

Whatever you do, be prepared to fight dirty bargaining tactics. You can be just firm as they can,
even firmer. It easier to defend principle than an illegitimate tactic. DON’T BE A VICTIM.