New player

Disciplines > Negotiation > Negotiation tactics > New player

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

When a negotiation that is taking a number of meetings is getting stuck or things are turning for the worse (for you), bring a new person from your side to the table.

Add a new member or change a person in a negotiation team.

Change the person doing the negotiation.

Bring in a subject expert to give advice.

Bring in an observer to watch body language and add a fresh eye.

Example

I am getting nowhere in persuading my son, so I ask my wife to talk with him.

A person is unsuccessful at asking the boss for a raise, so they bring in their trade union representative.

A buying team wants to shake up a negotiation with a sales team and so changes several members of its team.

Discussion

As negotiations progress, relationships start to build between the two sides. This creates an inter-group social pattern of which the other side can be taken advantage, for example by incremental conversion. Changing your team make-up breaks this pattern and allows you to remove any suspect people

A new person on your team will disrupt and distract the other side as they seek to figure out what this person is like and what part they will play.

A new negotiator is often able to sweep away commitments made by the previous negotiator.

A new expert can help you challenge claims from the other side, identify that which has not been mentioned. They can counter arguments or create your own new arguments.