The Use of Concessions

To a large extent negotiating is the art of knowing how to exchange concessions. One of the major drawbacks with concession trading is that it can involve losses at two levels - both materially and from an image perspective.

Concessions can become a way of life, eating away at an organizations profit margin - particularly, for example, when sales targets are volume based with little or no recourse to the bottom line. This is why it is important to plan carefully the concessions that you are willing to make.

Each concession made, may be read either as: a goodwill gesture, or - a sign of weakness.

Even in the best case scenario - where a concession is taken as a sign of goodwill - there is absolutely no compelling reason for the other side to respond in kind. Making goodwill concessions is not contagious. An experienced negotiator is more likely to accept the concession and feel confident that he can seek further movement from a party that is ready to make unilateral concessions.

If however, the concession is read as weakness on your part then the other side may very well adopt a tougher stance. The law of the jungle prevails at the bargaining table and one thing that you must try to avoid doing is to draw attention to any weaknesses in your case.