PSYCHOMANIPULATION - Tomasz Witkowski

What if?
As a rule, I usually only become aware of an opportunity when it’s gone.
M. Twain
Take the following discussion:
- Good, so we’ve settled most of the terms of the contract. You’ve already told us your suggestions
about how much the machinery should cost. There’s just one more important thing for me to
mention. We’ve got some rather far-reaching plans for development. After fitting out the workshop
which we’ve just shown you, we’re going to install machines in the next one. As you can see, there
are plenty of opportunities for doing good business with us. What would the price of the machinery
be if we ordered it for both workshops right now?
-Well, in that case, we could consider giving a discount of… let’s say 8%.
- Really? In that case I’ll let you in on another little secret of ours. According to market research,
the market share of our products is expected to go up fairly steeply. In that case, we might need to
build yet another workshop next year. Suppose we took these plans into consideration in our
contract, would it be possible for you to make any further discounts?
- We’d have to look at it more closely.
- Of course, I don’t want to pressure you into making any decisions right now, but do you
suppose we could count on another 8% discount in the situation I’ve just described?
- Maybe not 8%, I guess somewhere in the range of 3 to 5%.
- That’s great. Listen, I’ve got a suggestion for you. Seeing as you would be able to lower the prices
which we’ve negotiated for the contract by up to 13% or even a little bit more, why don’t we sign
a contract for the machinery for one workshop with a discount of 10% on the suggested prices. After
all, you’ll still be making a profit, won’t you?
Of course, most seasoned businessmen are already familiar with this negotiating ploy.
Nevertheless, young and inexperienced negotiators still fall victim to it, and it is also used in
political negotiations. It can be employed in discussions, or for example, by making a sending a
request for information or proposing a tentative preliminary agreement. If the other party shows
willingness to accept the terms of this agreement, the manipulating party will have obtained a much
clearer picture of their partners’ situation, about their willingness to make concessions and even, as
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