If someone uses hardball tactics during your barter negotiations, the worst thing that you can do is to react positively or negatively.

If you react positively, you will simply get more of the same hardball behavior. On the other hand, if you react negatively by retaliating or using your own hardball tactics, you merely escalate the conflict.

This only gets both parties’ egos engaged and heightens the possibility of deadlock.

The best reaction is no reaction at all. If you don’t get hard, or soft, if you don’t make concessions or escalate, they will begin to wonder just what it is that you know. You will appear confident and in control.

So, the most intimidating thing that you can do to intimidate someone who is trying to intimidate you by using intimidation tactics is not to be intimidated. When you decide whether their power play will work it’s very intimidating!

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 1:50 pm and is filed under From the Desk of Bob Meyer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.