(Continued from page 27) So instead of just taking the deal, you might say that you would like to check with your boss first. When you come back with the deal approved, perhaps moaning and groaning a little bit about how hard you had to fight for them, you reinforce that they really have gotten the best possible deal.

As you will see in our negotiating seminars, an alternate to this is to bring back a no from the authority. In this negotiating situation, you could have said no yourself, but your experience with this buyer is that they never accept it when you say no. Instead, you go to the negotiating authority and come back and say, "well, I wasn't able to do it," therefore reinforcing and cementing your refusal to give them what they were asking for.

Sometimes getting the no from the authority is used to preserve your relationship with the buyer so that you are the good guy and it’s the organizational bad guy who said no. However, be careful about too often painting your organization as the bad guy, as this can sometimes backfire.

Another use of authority limits is what I call the purchase order close. It works this way. The buyer has placed an offer on the table, which while acceptable, is not great. However, you have become convinced that they are at or close to their negotiating L.A.S.

But, your experience with this buyer is that if you were to say, "okay we'll accept it," they would continue to ask for other things and nibble you down. Or even worse, they might back off and try to use your price as a bargaining tool with your competitors. In such situations, the purchase order close can work well. (Continued on page 29)