Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/655792
42 FEDA News & Views you if you move? On the right-hand side of the page, list the landlord's options. How specialized is this building? How diffi cult would it be for him to fi nd a new tenant? Would they pay more or would he have to lease it for less? How much would he have to spend on improvements or remodeling to accommodate a new tenant? Now you must do one more thing. You must compensate for the fact that whichever side of the negotiating table you're on, you always think you have the weaker hand. After all, you know all about the pressure that's on you, but you don't know about the pressure that's on the leaseholder. One of the things that makes you a more powerful negotiator is understand- ing that you always think you have the weaker hand and are learning to compensate for that. So, when you list each side's alternatives in this way, you'll likely end up concluding that the landlord has more alternatives than you do. Always keep this in mind and make necessary mental adjustments. When President Clinton phoned President Carter to tell him that he had already begun the invasion, and Carter had 30 minutes to leave the country, it was an ultimate example of applying time pressure to a negotiation. The only problem was that Clinton was putting time pressure on the wrong side. We had all the power in that negotiation because we had all the alternatives. It should have been Carter putting time pressure on Cedras, not Clinton putting time pressure on Carter. 20 years experience shipping equipment to the Food service industry Zero administrative expenses or fees Custom freight solutions utilizing super-regionals and national partners Rate shop the best carriers in US for most desirable service lanes at reduced rates Deliver to more 1-2 days points with LTL's lowest claims rates When you MUST have a truckload, you MUST have ATS Explicit delivery receipt to eliminate unplanned accessorial charges Full-visibility on web routing with immediate vendor compliance Real invoice audit including weight & class comparison to spec sheets In transit expediting & damage control How Time Affects continued Because being under time pressure weakens your hand, you should never disclose to your counterpart that you have a deadline. Let's say, for example, that you have fl own to Dallas to resolve a negotiation with a hotel developer and you have a return fl ight at 6 o'clock. Sure, you're eager to catch that fl ight—but don't tell the other people. If they know you have a 6 o'clock fl ight, be sure to let them know you also have a 9 oclock back-up fl ight or, for that matter, you can remain for as long as it takes to work out a mutually satisfactory arrangement. If they're aware you're under time pressure, they could delay the bulk of the negotiations until the last possible minute. Then there's a real danger that you'll give things away under that kind of time pressure. Putting it into Practice In my Power Negotiating seminars, I set up exercises so stu- dents can practice negotiating. They may have 15 minutes to complete a negotiation, and I impress on them the importance of reaching an agreement within that time period. As I stroll around the room eavesdropping on the progress of the nego- tiations, I can tell that during the fi rst 12 minutes they have diffi culty making any progress. Both sides are stonewalling the issues and there is very little give and take. At 12 minutes, with 80 percent of the time used up, I take the microphone and tell them they have only 3 minutes left. Then I continue periodic announcements to keep the time pressure on them and end with a countdown of the seconds from fi ve to zero. It's very clear to see that they make 80 percent of the concessions in the last 20 percent of the time available to negotiate. So, the rule in negotiating is that 80 percent of the conces- sions occur in the last 20 percent of the time remaining to negotiate. If demands are presented early in a negotiation, neither side may be willing to make concessions and the entire transaction might collapse. If, on the other hand, addi- tional demands or problems surface in the last 20 percent of the time available to negotiate, both sides are more willing to make concessions. A Critical Time Pressure Principle Think of the last time that you purchased a piece of real estate. It probably took about 10 weeks from the time you signed the initial contract to the time you actually became the owner of the property. Now think of the concessions that were made. Isn't it true that during the last two weeks, when things came up to be renegotiated, both sides became more fl exible? Some people are unethical enough to use this against you. They hold out, until the last minute, elements of the nego- tiation that could have been brought up earlier and easily resolved. Then when you're getting ready to complete the arrangements, these problems come up because they know The rule in negotiating is that 80 percent of the concessions occur in the last 20 percent of the time remaining to negotiate.