Lawyers as (Good and Bad) Deal Killers

Karrass at Negotiation Space writes:

Lawyers are great deal killers. If you tried to bargain away every danger the lawyers foresaw, the negotiation would never end. ...

Lawyers, nevertheless, had an important function in reviewing the final contract.  They found areas in which our company vulnerability was too high for comfort. They left us to decide whether we could live with the potential danger or if we needed greater protection. Our decision was made on the basis of the other side’s track record as a reliable seller and their willingness to relieve our vulnerability by granting necessary warranties.

The trouble with these deal-killers is that they are far removed from the real marketplace, while the salesperson is on the front line with buyers every day.

Intermediaries in Negotiation Can Be a Negative

Intermediaries, such as real estate brokers, can have benefits but they can also make things harder.  Karass gives the example of the bad faith negotiating tactic, the false acceptance.  His advice is talk directly to the other side's principal by cutting out the intermediaries:  "take things into your own hands as much as possible.  Don’t let third party intermediaries like brokers or middlemen handle the action.  Insist on having your position heard by the principals involved." "do the administrative and running around work yourself."

22 Tips to Improve Your Negotiation Skills

22 good negotiating tips from Karrass.  Among them:

"If you get people angry, they will get even by rejecting your message, even when it is good for them." and "The Chinese say, 'Time brings things in slow degrees.'  The skilled persuader starts early and lets acceptance time, repetition, and logic do the job by slow degrees."  Fits right in with yesterday's post on patience as a virtue in negotiation.