negotiation

How to Respond to Threats in a Negotiation


You know the feeling. It’s a combination of disappointment, frustration, and nerves. Your palms might feel sweaty, perhaps you can’t quite find the words to respond. Your counterpart, with whom you were casually negotiating mere minutes ago, has dropped a bomb. You’ve just been threatened in your negotiation. Cue the adrenaline. Your fight or flight […]

3 common negotiation tricks – and how to manage them


You might be an ethical, well-intended negotiator who’s always aiming for win-win outcomes. But let’s not be naïve: not every person you encounter will have the same mindset. Sometimes, perhaps more often than you’d like, you’ll come up against underhanded negotiation tactics designed to knock you off balance and pressure you to accept less-than-perfect deals. […]

4 (almost devious) rapport-building secrets to transform your negotiations


Negotiations aren’t just about offers and counter-offers. The state of your connection with your counterpart can make all the difference to how things turn out. That’s why rapport building is critical. It helps to create a collaborative dynamic that’s more conducive to achieving high value outcomes. But how do you build rapport effectively? Here are […]

5 things you already know about your next negotiation


At CMA, we spend a lot of time with people assisting them to prepare for their negotiations.  A frequent refrain is, “But I never have enough time to prepare.” This may be true, and there are certainly going to be times when you don’t have as much time as you would like to prepare for […]

Agents aren’t necessarily adversaries


CMA Associate Rebecca Stowe offers her advice in response to a recent query on a property purchase: Q. I’m trying to purchase a house, which has been advertised as “private sale” by a real estate agent. The price the vendor has specified seems ambitious, and as a purchaser, I’m keen to pay as low a price […]

Negotiation Insights: Is your organisation gambling with its future?


What impact are negotiations having on your business? What kinds of negotiations are most important to Australian businesses and government agencies? What kinds of negotiation-damaging risks are they aware of, and what are they doing to manage those risks? What can they do to become more effective in their negotiations? And what is at stake?

Negotiating for a New Car: Who’s Better – Men or Women?


Most of us have negotiated to buy a car at least once in our lives. It can be an exhilarating and somewhat daunting experience. Traditionally, men have been perceived (whether true or not) as having the upper hand in the car negotiation stakes. But is that true today? Let’s find out. What the research says… […]

The Shocking Power of Counter Offers


In a previous post, we discussed why you should make the first offer in a negotiation. But what should you do if they get in first and make the initial offer? The advice here is short and simple: always counter their initial offer before striking a deal. The power of countering This might come as […]