If you are one of the estimated fourteen people on earth that haven’t yet seen Batman: The Dark Knight, then you should stop reading now, go watch it, and prevent this spoiler. But if you have seen it, then you know that Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker was nothing less than legendary as demonstrated by the numerous diabolical plots and clever setups Joker imposed on Gotham City, perpetually keeping his enemies off balance and confused with style.
Now, while I by no means advocate psychopathic criminal schemes, you have to admit that the Joker has the concept of “playing the angles” locked down tighter than Fort Knox. For example, in one scene of the movie, Joker deliberately allows himself to be arrested and even brutally interrogated all for the singular purpose of capturing Lau, Gotham City’s Chinese mob boss, while simultaneously playing Batman for a fool and sending him off to save the wrong person. Cue slow clap.
Geometry in Action
I bring this up to illustrate the concept of an “angle.” It implies that shrewdness lies in a person’s ability to present their intentions and actions as one thing while, covertly, their true motives remain hidden. It is in this way that master manipulators and genius negotiators achieve what they want without the person with whom they are dealing even knowing until the deal is done.
Of course, angles are not always nefarious. If we are to be honest, just about everyone uses them, although some are more skilled at this art form than others. Take, for example, the insurance company that lowers premiums for good drivers. This is not because they are delighted at your traffic fastidiousness; it is because drivers that avoid accidents save them more money than a full-priced premium would bring. Or consider grandma, who heaps an extremely oversized second helping onto your plate, not so much because you need the calories but because she wants nothing to go to waste.
Even if you are a strict “straight shooter,” transparent as glass, the fact remains that not everyone is, and so you will have to contend with understanding angles one way or another. But for those who embrace the concept, and use their powers for good, herein is presented some keys to being a master negotiator, shrewd at the bargaining table and apt at the gift of the swap.
Billiards, Like Negotiation, is Not a Game of Chance
Whether your desire is to rise as the victor in business, maximizing profitability while minimizing costs, or to convince your heart’s love to embrace you passionately, the means are at your disposal if you will but incline your intellect toward grasping and sharpening this skill.
Before we start, I must point out you should engage in “angle play” at your own discretion. The skill is like a hammer, neither good nor evil in and of itself, but capable of mighty deeds on both ends of the spectrum depending on how it is used. If nothing else, learn how it works so you can defend yourself from the latter.
Know also that angles are always hidden. To detect them, you have to search for them, which requires clever attention and the capacity for abstract thought. If guile is foreign to you, then harness the power of being obsessively detail-oriented. This is how Sherlock Holmes deduced and overthrew the cleverest of scheming masterminds. After all, the devil is in the details.
To the Victor Go the Spoils
Moreover, to succeed at this, when recognizing someone’s angle, it behooves you to sort it’s accuracies from its embellishments, meet it realistically with an opposing angle like the crossing of polished swords, and drive yours deep into your opponent, all the while making them think they have won the match. Essentially, mastering angles helps you crush competition at the billiard table and in the boardroom, enabling you to win trophies and glory in both the marketplace and the bedroom. But use with caution.
Please be mindful that this is an extremely simplified and truncated listing but, in essence, here are some keys to gaining the upper hand in bartering and negotiation, and they apply to practically every area of life. If you’d like to learn more, lessons are available through Kinged consulting.
1. Know your target.
I say target rather than “know your opponent,” because the person you are negotiating with isn’t really a rival. You are competing, yes, but winning is achieved by bulls-eyeing your target and not the person holding it. The optimal way to do this is to focus less on what is being negotiated about and more on the needs and wants of the person or group with which you are speaking. What is worth little to one man is priceless to another. So pick your targets well.
Always do your research beforehand, come to the table fully prepared, and build solid rapport by making it clear you care as much about their best-interests as you do your own. Firm and confident likeability is critical. People do business and make deals with those they like and trust. The best way to achieve this is by pinpointing their needs and genuinely seeking to meet them. This engenders reciprocity, which greases the wheels for you obtaining what you’ve come to the table to achieve.
2. Investigate your target and your offer’s value to them so you know its true worth.
Refuse to settle for less than this amount. Then augment your offer to make it better than any other similar offer your target might receive.
Some simple ways to do this are to present your offer in a manner that is new or unique to those of your competitors, make a small improvement to it that is low cost to you but high yield to your target, or juxtapose it with a weaker option that highlights your position as a superior value.
3. Highlight the benefits of your offer and how it meets your target’s needs.
NEVER downplay your offer/item or its deficiencies UNLESS you are doing so as a tool to explain why you are settling for less, and let them know this is the reason so your target walks away celebrating having just received one heck of a deal.
One way to do this is simply to ask them what they want (you’d be surprised how often a well-placed question will reveal your target’s desires if you frame it in such a way that it is apparent you can fulfill that want assuming the two of you come to terms). Having done this and exposed the want, show them what they really need but didn’t realize as a way to sweeten the offer. If you have prepared adequately and are in a position to meet both their wants and their needs, then they will literally beg you to close the deal.
4. Define the parameters.
Don’t let any negotiation be simply “this for that” but instead note additional offers or multiple choices your target can make that are all acceptable to you. Meanwhile, hold out on your preferred option until you’ve gauged your target’s pain points and interests in various outcomes. This will allow you to systematically eliminate or elevate the various options available in favor of the outcome you desire.
An added bonus of this approach is the ability to inject flexibility and creativity into the negotiations. When this happens, your target may also begin to willingly reveal additional options and, if you finesse this just right, you might get a sweeter outcome than what you originally sought because your target has begun showing their cards. Whatever the dynamic, though, be clear on what you WON’T accept. You can express this in a non-rigid way by pivoting to alternatives when less desirable outcomes are mentioned by your target, keeping the ball in play and the negotiation in motion.
5. Aim high so you have room to compromise and still come away successful.
There’s a reason that buyers low-ball and seller’s-highball at the car dealership. The actual win-win cost is usually in the middle, but if you start out too low or too high, then you have no room to maneuver.
Couple this with noting the deficiencies in your target’s offer. If you can do so in a tactful and realistic way, their natural inclination will be to compensate by softening their stance, thereby allowing you to use this as leverage to improve or alter the ultimate outcome. Also, if they use this tactic against your offer then at least you both have done so and each remain on equal footing.
6. Use asymmetrical negotiation.
Come at your target in a way they don’t expect. Chances are high that this is not their first negotiation nor the first time they’ve encountered your offer, objections, and strategy. Because of this, they will be prepared to overcome your objections, reinforce their position, and back you into an inferior position.
So sidestep their preparations by presenting a creative and unique proposition that they have not encountered nor had time against which to prepare. In this scenario, you will have the upper hand and can press the advantage by highlighting a novel situation in which you both profit and for which few objections or defenses have been marshalled.
7. “No” is never an acceptable answer.
Don’t get cussed with the “no” word, simply accept the verdict, and then slink from the room with your tail tucked firmly between your legs. Instead, regroup by agreeing the topic under discussion may not work and instead offer an alternate deal. Be creative and prepare several alternatives in advance so you can shift from a stalemate or a souring of interest into a fresh approach that recaptures their curiosity and desire to move forward.
Also, in some situations, it’s okay to allow both parties to take some time to think on it. But this should be a last resort since, generally (once the negotiations stop without an agreement), it’s all over but the crying. Maintain momentum and, as much as is possible, secure an agreement quickly. As the old adage goes, “A sale delayed is a sale lost.”
8. Always seek a win-win scenario.
While it’s not recommended to paint the situation in this light (most people prefer to feel like they’ve “won” during a negotiation), it is wise to point out the ways the target is gaining even if it is (as they perceive it) at your expense. This allows you to be a “gracious loser” even though, in reality, you are the one walking away with an achievement and, possibly, with a much higher-value outcome than what your target has accepted.
Ideally, ensure that everyone does win by identifying the ways both parties’ needs are met. If you can pull this off, no one will later have “buyer’s remorse.” Instead, you just may have set yourself up for another lucrative negotiation opportunity with your new ally in the future.
9. Be prepared to walk.
Lastly, if you can’t go into a negotiation and decline the offer made to you, then don’t sit down at the table at all. It is precisely the ability to refuse a low-value offer that allows you to bargain from a position of strength. If you begin the process with a willingness to capitulate to whatever your target requests because you “need” whatever they are offering, then the chances are you’ve already lost. Always be ready to say, “Thanks but no thanks” and take your offer elsewhere if your target is unwilling to seek a mutually-beneficial agreement.
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To illustrate, here’s an example of some of these principles in action: a man enters a pawnshop carrying a used chainsaw for which he no longer has a use, having just been gifted a new one. This man knows the chainsaw’s value is easily $60, apparent from similar ones priced as much and displayed in the pawn shop’s window. If he approaches the owner, requesting he purchase the saw, this man knows he will never be offered $60 for the merchandise. In order for the shop to turn a profit it must buy low and sell high. The very best he can hope for is perhaps $30-$40 cash, and that only after a fair amount of haggling takes place.
The shrewd negotiator ignores this tactic. Instead, he notices a rack sagging beneath the weight of unsold DVDs, many of which sell for $15-$20 new yet are now priced at $5 each. This man also knows that all things are moving to digital, leaving the shop owner’s DVD merchandise overstocked and undersold. And there are several of these movies he’d like to see. He can accept the $30-$40 cash for his chainsaw and purchase perhaps two of them new at Walmart. But this he does not do.
Instead, he points out the owner’s chainsaw selling price, establishing the value of his wares. The shop keeper then prepares to undercut his asking price but the man deploys an asymmetrical tactic. He says, “Hey, it looks like you’ve got quite a few movies over there, how about instead of haggling over the cash we just trade the chainsaw for 15 movies?” Knowing he needs to get rid of his DVDs anyway, the owner agrees but offers 10 movies instead. They settle on 12 movies and shake hands.
Now, the man who has unloaded an unneeded chainsaw walks away with $60 worth of merchandise, achieving his full asking price for the saw but obtained creatively. And both negotiators part happy, having each won a victory. How did this man achieve these results?
He understood his opponent’s needs, knew the value of his offer, aimed high, presented it in an asymmetrical way, leveraged his opponent’s deficiencies, presented himself as likeable and fair, and secured a win-win scenario.
Moreover, if this pawnshop owner had refused his offer, he was prepared to walk and present the offer to the owner of the pawn shop across the street. Statistically speaking, someone would eventually agree to his terms plus he could refine and troubleshoot his approach with each unsuccessful attempt.
I’ve purposely used a very simple example in an effort to illustrate negotiation principles in action. It matters not if the stakes were a $6,000 diamond ring for 12 months to wed, a $60,000 salary for 12 years’ experience, or $60M capital for 12 retail locations. It’s all about knowing the desires of the one with whom you are negotiating, harnessing a creative angle to leverage your best offer, and meeting that person’s needs to seal the deal.
Check your angles and you’ll never scratch on the 8-ball. Now get out there and break.
Until next time, don’t just be transformed: be Kinged.
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