In negotiation the key to success is to learn as much as possible about the other guy’s condition, wants, needs, etc., while disclosing only your wants (but not your minimum acceptable deal).  You knew that, didn’t you?  But do you know about “good cop/bad cop”? 

Let’s listen in on a typical negotiation situation, buying a used car from a dealer.  Buyer: “I see the sticker says $15,000 but I know you guys dicker.  How about I give you ten thou and take it off your hands?”  Sales Rep (after the offer of ten): “I am sorry, but I am not authorized by the sales mangler, oops, manager, to take anything off the sticker.  Besides, this is a real cream puff.”

Buyer: “Look, I can’t afford 15, and the cream looks long out of the puff.  Talk to your manager, see if he will go to ten, and if not then what can he do for me?”

Sales Rep (after walking away, maybe talking with another rep about sports, or possibly the real sales manager): “Tell you what; just to prove we are an honest dealership I will throw in these fuzzy red dice to sweeten the deal.”

After a couple more turns by Buyer and Sales Rep on the dance floor, the Sales Rep has given away, besides the fuzzy dice, a bobble head, two tickets to an obscure rock band most noted for biting the heads off of chocolate bunnies on stage (real cutting edge stuff) plus a damaged Ralph Nader campaign 2000 button.

Buyer is still poormouthing himself and holding firm, but has added a line about needing the car to take his daughter to get kidney dialysis every day.  He actually has no daughter.  This time the sales rep brings the real sales manager back with him.

Sales Manager [angrily]: Look, buddy, I don’t know what you are trying to pull, but it ain’t gonna work.  We know the values of cars; we’ve been in the business a long time.  We put a fair price sticker on each car.  If you can’t afford a car I don’t know why you are wasting my employee’s time.  Just who do you think you are?  Why don’t you just go across the street?  They have junkers you can afford.  Next time you come here you be prepared to pay the honest price we put on our stickers, understand?”

At this point the Sales Rep breaks in: “Please Mr. Shreck, I am sure this nice fellow was just trying to get the best deal he could, he meant no harm, just let me work with him a few more minutes.  I am sure we can work something out.”  (Sales manager walks away grumbling, looking for someone else to work on.)

Sales Rep (to Buyer).  “I am real sorry you had to catch that.  He’s in a bad mood today and you don’t want to get on his bad side.  Look, let’s go get us a [soda brand name left out until they come up with a better offer to me for product placement] and talk about it calmly.  We’ll get you that car.  ….  Mr. Buyer, the Green book on that car is almost 17, but I know you need it to get your daughter the care she needs.  I am going to go out on a limb for you because we’re friends [after 15 minutes].  I will let you have it for fourteen-five because you shouldn’t have had to listen to that stuff from Mr. Shreck, and I don’t want him coming back again.”

That was classic good cop/bad cop.  The idea, of course, is to get buyer to feel friendship with the “good cop” and do whatever the latter suggests.  We all want to avoid pain, and Shreck is a real pain.  While Sales Rep is a real nice guy (for a shark).

All negotiation is psy-war, psychological warfare, and a well-executed GC/BC is a nuclear weapon.  Unprepared, even someone who regularly does this himself or herself is vulnerable.  Your best preparation is simply to be aware of the game, know its signs, and understand that it is play-acting—neither “cop” is what they seem.  You just go on playing your own game as if they never started theirs.

You can get good deals for yourself in business and personal life, if you stay alert and have an idea what is coming next.

Phil Marcus is a consulting negotiator and business growth consultant, and founder of The Negotiation Pro in Columbia, Maryland.  Write info@NegotiationPro.com or call 301-498-4766.

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