It is sometimes said that ‘timing is everything’. While that may not always be true, timing can play a pivotal role in negotiation, especially if one party has a tight timeline. Being up against the clock or with a hard date upcoming can result in major concessions in price, terms, or other elements of a deal.
Whenever a party enters a negotiation with time pressures, their flexibility is diminished. And if the other party is aware of that time pressure they can use it to their advantage. For that reason, any time you are under time pressure it is important to conceal that fact from the other party or downplay it. Of course, the best way to prevent timing from adversely affecting a negotiation outcome is to plan ahead whenever possible.
When I was responsible for security software for a large company we usually planned ahead for contract renewals to avoid being put in a time bind. This allowed us to negotiate a renewal months in advance and have the option to switch to a different security software solution if the terms of our existing vendor were unfavorable. This helped keep the terms reasonable and in some cases avoided a need to switch products. I remember one situation when we did not plan ahead and were forced to accept a large price increase. Because we neglected to act proactively and replacing the product would have taken months, our existing vendor imposed a large price increase that we were forced to accept. Our lack of planning essentially wiped out our BATNA because we did not have time to replace the existing product.
In another situation we wanted to increase our storage capacity, but we had no timing pressure. Our storage provider was up against a yearend sales deadline and they were eager to make a deal quickly to include that revenue in that year’s earnings. Because the time pressure was theirs and not ours, we were able to negotiate a very favorable deal with great pricing and services.
One defense against time pressure is to have a strong BATNA. That way, if the negotiation is not trending favorably you have a fallback position. The lack of a viable alternative coupled with a timing issue can present a difficult situation for either party. Planning ahead is often the best way to avoid a timing crisis.
When the other party is under time pressure there are some simple ways to use that to your advantage. One way is to simply delay making the deal, increasing the pressure on them. Another is to become unavailable or seem indifferent to making a deal. I remember one time a hardware salesman wanted us to purchase a solution from him but he was very rigid on the price. I knew he was eager to make the deal before the end of his company’s quarterly deadline while I had no urgency on my end. Because he refused to even consider reducing his price, I simply stopped answering my phone when he called. I let his calls go to my voice mail. With no time pressure there was no reason compelling me to agree to a price higher than I thought was fair. After a few days of unanswered phone calls, he left a message saying he had magically found a way to reduce his price. With the knowledge that he had a timing issue, disengaging helped achieve a price reduction without even really negotiating.
Summary
If you are being backed into a corner because of time pressure without a good alternative, your negotiating stance will be weakened. And, whenever the other party is facing a deadline, you can use that to your advantage. Having a strong BATNA is one way to immunize you from a timing crisis. And whenever possible, it is wise to plan ahead to prevent time pressures from working against you.
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