“Can’t you do any better on the pricing?”, the prospect drawled slowly. My mind raced through the possibilities: $ 100 off, 5% off, 30 day terms or maybe even 10% off. What to do I questioned over and over in my mind over the duration of just a few seconds. And then I remembered the power of “the silence technique”
With great conviction and a calm voice I said, ” No, the prices I gave you are my best prices.”
At that point I was done talking. I was afflicted with temporary lockjaw until the prospect reacted to my firm stand. The silence of dead air was paralyzing while I waited for what seemed to be an eternity for my sales prospect to respond.
And, eventually he did respond. ” Okay, I’ll take it”, he consented.
The “He who speaks first loses” technique of negotiating had worked once again!
A coworker introduced this negotiating technique to me some time ago. In simple language: present your price offer for an item and then shut up. Shut up means: no talking, silence, bite a hole through your lip if you have to, but calmly wait for the buyer or seller’s response.
You see, in our North American society, silence is an uncomfortable element in a conversation. We cannot tolerate “dead air”. A result of too much radio and TV listening and viewing, the lack of sound has conditioned us to believe something is wrong.
The radio station must have stopped broadcasting. The television station has a transmission problem. Things are broken because there is silence.
And this is the way society has evolved into evaluating conversations. If the dialogue stops, if there is dead air, then something is wrong or it’s broken. As you talk business and put an offer or counter offer in front of the buyer or seller, a silence or lack of response, will make you automatically think “It’s not working, I’ve got to sweeten the deal” and you break the silence and begin talking.
Silence is Powerful! Never assume silence is a form of rejection. It’s a signal of thought taking place, nothing more. It’s a waiting game for decisions. The impatient negotiator who makes concessions before hearing a response from the opposing buyer or seller is bidding in an auction with himself. He will never know that he would have had a deal with his first offer if he’d just waited a few more seconds.
As you negotiate for price and terms in any type of sale or purchase, keep in mind the power of silence. Begin to test your capacity to feel uncomfortable with awkward silence in a conversation. Resist the temptation to play traditional negotiating tennis by returning each verbal volley immediately.
Let silence be your invisible negotiating team.