Introduction
We share with you a column by Chris Voss about “take it or leave it” situations. I believe this is very interesting for the readers of this blog with a knack for negotiation. Almost everybody, I expect.
Chris Voss has written the book “Never split the difference”. This hugely interesting book shows you the negotiation techniques applied by the FBI during hostage negotiations. The “technical” aspects are explained in a narrative way. You can also use them in your Project Business negotiations. The paperback version has cost me about seven euros. It is a pleasure to read, thrilling with those FBI examples. And, of course, an opportunity to improve your negotiation techniques.
Definition of a ‘take it or leave it’ offer
Usually, in the Project Business, Clients/Owners are the ones formulating a “take it or leave it offer”. It is an offer that you may only accept 100%, as it is, without any change. Otherwise, you will have to leave the negotiating table without agreement. The assumption is that the Client will then immediately start negotiating with another possible Contractor. However, whether restarting is a credible option, or not, depends on how far you have come in the negotiations process. Also, to what extent competitors will make the expected concessions?
Link to the article
You can find the article by Chris Voss by clicking here.
You can read more articles on negotiation on this blog by clicking here.
AfiTaC.com is the blog on commercial and contractual subjects for the Project Businesses (Construction, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Power & Renewable, Water Supply & Sanitation, etc). Its objective is to stimulate reflection, learning, convergence to balanced contracts and positive dispute resolution. You can subscribe to our newsletter by writing to “newsletter@afitac.com”. You can also connect to our LinkedIn page. Engagement with the readers is what keeps us going. So, don’t hesitate to exchange with us by commenting here below, liking our publication on LinkedIn and writing to us “info@afitac.com”.
3 Comments
Power to negotiate contracts: Are you “too big to fail” or do you “fail to be big”? - AfiTaC.com · 28 April 2019 at 17 h 26 min
[…] not the result of mutual agreement but were forced by one strong party on the other weaker party (“take it or leave it”). Unfortunately, smaller companies often “fail”/go bankrupt before they reach that point. And […]
Contract Management & Music, The Rolling Stones on contract negotiation - AfiTaC · 10 July 2019 at 16 h 55 min
[…] positions – are the other party’s interest. They do this by asking calibrated questions. Chris Voss, a former FBI hostage negotiator, is a master of this. By deeply understanding your counterpart’s situation, you can generate a […]
Hiding or sharing information during negotiation? - AfiTaC · 19 December 2019 at 8 h 15 min
[…] But understanding interests requires further information sharing during the negotiation process. Chris Voss is the guru of the techniques to stimulate your counterpart to table that highly useful […]