Responding to Negotiating Nibblers

Employers and employees around the country are negotiating new terms and conditions of employment and, I know, the process can be brutal.??By the time you reach the final stages of the negotiation process, your inclination might be to just plow through the final details and get the deal done.??On one hand, this makes sense. On the other hand, as exhausted are you, you want to be sure that you do not leave anything on table.??You've been so diligent up until this point, my advice would be to dig deep to find the energy and stamina you need??to see the process through.??

Why is this important? Because sometimes, even when a deal appears to be close, a negotiator may try to achieve a final small gain. This is known as nibbling. For example, after agreeing with you on the price for some goods, a customer might say, “I assume this includes free shipping,” regardless of whether you discussed shipping before. The idea, of course, is to receive an additional benefit without having to provide a concession or something of value in return.

As negotiating tactics go, nibbling is even more nuanced, because it usually occurs near the end of the process. At the negotiation approaches the finish line, Party A “confirms” a small point, suggesting that they’re “not really asking for it” and “hadn’t even considered it before” because they presumed it was already in the agreement. In most cases, Party B may decide that because the additional “give” is so small, no further discussion is needed as to how it fits into the deal. That, of course, is precisely the response that Party A was counting on.

Within the context of the negotiation of terms and conditions of employment, sometimes the nibbling will be presented in the form of a specific proposal. Consider this example:

Ivy and her prospective employer have talked extensively about the terms of her employment, including proposals on such key items as her health and retirement benefits, paid time off, title, and access to support staff. The company has asked Ivy to make a final proposal. Ivy agrees to the terms proposed by the company regarding the above items but asks for $135,000. The company says they’ll agree to her proposal as stated, provided that Ivy agrees to a starting salary of $134,000.

In this case Ivy may decide that it’s not worth quibbling over $1,000, given all the other benefits she’ll receive under the deal. Better to “give” the other side a small win than prolong the matter any further.

Of course, the problem with that idea is, how does Ivy know that the company won’t try to nibble even further? She doesn’t. However, there are things she can do to protect herself, just in case they do. Before she agrees to that “one last change,” she can confirm in writing that this offer “represents the company’s final offer” and that if they intend to make any further adjustments, she’d like to be made aware of them first before making any final decisions.

Another way to prevent further nibbling is to remember that you’re not the only one who wants to close the deal. Going back to Ivy, let’s say that she’s really frustrated by $1,000 nibble but concedes to it anyway because not doing so would prevent the deal from being closed. (Meaning, if she were to say no, that would be a deal-breaker for the other side.) That being the case, rather than frame the situation as “I agree because I can’t afford to lose the deal,” flip it around and say, “I feel comfortable with my last offer and I hope this minor point won’t undo all the time and effort we’ve spent to get to this point.” (In other words, the other side should be unwilling to throw the deal; therefore, they should remove the request for a final $1,000 concession.)

If that doesn’t work, Ivy has one more option. She can agree to the final small concession in exchange for “just one more thing” of her own.??Consider how this approach might work in another example:

In early November, Logan meets with her employer to sign her employment contract. In reviewing the agreement she says, “Before we officially conclude, I just want to confirm that I’ll receive the Friday after Thanksgiving off, along with the other senior executives.”

In response, the employer says, “Yes, Logan, you’ll also get that additional paid day off, because we grant it in exchange for all the hard work our senior executives do the previous weekend, at our company’s annual holiday gift fair, which I assume you’ll also attend.”

In this case, both parties receive an additional gain (Thanksgiving Friday off for Logan, in exchange for her time the prior weekend). Under this set of circumstances, the deal can still move toward its final resolution.

The reality is that both employers and prospective employees may engage in last-minute negotiation nibbling as a way to achieve a final benefit.??In some cases, this can be an effective strategy. In other situations, it might be viewed upon negatively, even if one party decides to concede to the requests in order to conclude the deal.??

Whether or not nibbling will be the best path forward will depending upon the specific facts of each negotiation.??But, regardless of whether you decide to nibble, decline to nibble, give in to a nibbler, or push back on a nibbler, at the very least you should be aware of this negotiation strategy. Why? Because you want to be well-positioned to make an informed decision as to whether you want to use the tactic, and you also want to be savvy enough to know when someone else has decided to try it on you.

Interested in learning more about nibbling as well as other negotiation strategies? If so, pick up a copy of my new book,?Negotiating Without the Nonsense : Straightforward and Effective Strategies to Obtain the Best Possible Compensation Package, which is now available by clicking here.