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Peter Barron Stark
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Tactic #64- Fait Accompli - Asking for
Forgiveness
Summary: Taking action without negotiating
first and then apologizing for any ensuing problems.
Fait Accompli is a tactic described by Gerard I.
Nierenberg. The phrase is French for “accomplished fact,” and refers to
a deed that is already done—and is therefore irreversible. You employ
this tactic when you do something without first negotiating it. Then,
when you get caught, you respond to any questions with something like,
“Who, me? I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to be doing that. I apologize.
I will not do it anymore.”
Example
Your
neighbors’ trees are hanging over your property and you are tired of
raking up the leaves. Instead of making a big deal and asking your
neighbors to cut the trees back to the property line, you decide to trim
them yourself. Your neighbors become incensed that you have cut their
trees without asking. You reply simply that you thought you were doing
the right thing by not bothering them, and you apologize for your
actions.
Counter
The reason this tactic is so powerful is that there are few tactics to
counter it. What is done, is done. About the only thing the neighbors
can do is stop future progress. For example, if you are still cutting
the trees, the neighbors could ask you to stop, saying they will hire a
professional to trim their own trees. Putting the process on hold puts
them in a better position to enforce future action. They could also use
The Safeguard tactic to guide the future relationship, asking you
to agree that you will never cut the trees again without first getting
their permission.
Dear Master Negotiator,
In managing my business, I often times need
information related to the customer's business, from org info to market
forecasts to their specific forecast information. I run into troubles
with one customer where the the procurement manager I deal with is lazy
and doesn't like to provide any additional info or she doesn't give that
info out to her suppliers.
How do I turn this around to get the information with less resistance so
they see this as helpful to our mutual business relationship?
Sincerely, JWD
Dear JWD, This is a
difficult question to respond to without all the details. It is always
important to remember that procurement managers are best at saying one
word, "no." Many times, the procurement power does not have the ability
to tell someone "yes." The approval to move ahead with a specific
supplier is left for the people in the company who actually have the
budget and user responsibilities for what is being purchased. What is
also important to remember about procurement professionals is they
usually do have a preferred bidder that they would like to give the
business to. It does not sound like the preferred bidder is you in this
specific situation.
My first suggestion is to go find a "user" buyer or "coach" in your
customer's organization. The procurement manager will never know the
specific details about the intricacies of your technologies. As large as
your organization's are, it is my hope that you have built up strong
relationships and someone inside your customer's organization will serve
as your coach and provide the details you need. In this situation, it is
my belief that the true negotiation is not with the procurement
professional and you will not win this business without developing a
user or coach assisted strategy. If the user or coach buyers are
unwilling to help you, the opportunity to win the business is
significantly decreased.
You could try to utilize the strategy of Appealing to Mother
Teresa (I have a problem and I need your help) with the
procurement manager. You said the procurement manager is lazy so I do
not hold a high level of confidence that anything will work unless the
procurement manager fears losing their job. I do not recommend going
over their head and getting a higher authority involved. I know no one
never wants to turn down for a request to bid, it may be in your best
interest to decline rather than bidding in the blind. If you cannot find
the information you need, and one of your competitors does have access
to the information, you were not going to win the bid anyway.
I wish you great success. Go build a stronger relationship inside the
customer's organization and seal this deal.
Best Regards, Peter
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