I was having a drink with a client the other day. We had just finished a contract negotiation with a major software supplier and my client, instead of being happy with what as a great result and a significant negotiated saving, was fuming that I had shown the vendor salesman to be a liar. While I won’t go into the details of what that salesman had erroneously said and done, I thought it worth blogging on the general subject of spotting a liar.

Lying to gain competitive advantage during a contract negotiation is not only unethical but it can seriously damage the relationships between both parties. 

Yet research suggests that in an average 10 minte business conversation, most people will lie 2.9 times. These lies can be as simple as exageration about status, position or authority, or promises that cannot be kept white lies such as ‘Ive got another meeting in 10 minutes” to facilitate a quick escape.

Understanding the structure of language can help us interpret what the speaker is saying. For example, “I think that’s great, but…” usually means “it isn’t great at all”. Another language trick is to use generalisation; this has the effect of deleting useful facts such as when, where, who, what and why. Liars tend to make frequent use of ‘always’, ‘never’, ‘nobody’, and ‘everyone’ which distances themselves from the lie.

Here are five tell-tale verbal signs to look out for:

1. Circumlocution. Long-winded explanations with lots of digressions punctuated with ‘ums’ and ‘errs’.
2. Outlining. Explanations painted with broad brushstrokes. The brian finds it difficult to remember fictitious details.
3. Smokescreens. Answers/responses that are designed to confuse.
4. Negatives. If someone says ” I did not do ….” then beware.
5. Word choice. Liars make fewer references to themselves. ’I', me’, ‘mine’ are used less frequently.

And ofcourse, as well as watching what your supplier salespeople say you should also watch their body language which can give away a lot of non-verbal information. But that’s another story in itself….

According to various sources, the most effective strategies applied by businesses last year to help reduce their IT costs were 1/ encourage remote and mobile working, 2/ deploy more cost effective technology, 3/ negotiate lower IT costs with their incumbent IT suppliers, 4/ deploy open source applications, and 5/ standardise on one application platform. Many businesses were loathe to lose staff or to outsource as a quick fix. Silver Bullet Asociates helped many businesses negotiate cost savings and cost reductions with their IT suppliers last year and we are looking forward to doing the same this year. In fact, we’ve already made a fast start and have saved money for a handful of clients whose IT negotiations had drifted over from December.

Just Ask for What You Want. Don’t be Afraid to Take Risks. Thoroughly Prepare. Leave Your Ego at the Door. Listen Intently. Be Prepared for Surprises. Leverage Your BATNA (Best Alternative to No Agreement). Avoid Argument. Don’t be afraid to Walk Away. Clarify Expectations. Separate People from the Issues. Discover Your Opponent’s Motivation. Never Make a Concession without a Trade-Off. Be Bold. Role Play Negotiation Situations with Colleagues. Aim High. Be Organized. Ask an Expert Negotiator to be Your Mentor.

Economic conditions are very difficult for most businesses right now. And the pressure from Finance is always ‘can you do more with less’. If we put headcount reductions aside for a moment, the key surely is to find ways of achieving more with less budget, not doing more. So here are three ways that I see some of Silver Bullet Associates’ clients tackling this thorny issue.

1/ Leverage your current infrastructure. Make the most out of what you’ve got. Don’t rush to upgrade if you don’t need to. Review your asset register to see if you’re paying for things you no longer need or whether you can defer additional acquisitions if you have spare assets un-used in another part of the business.

2/ Renegotiate current contracts. Don’t simply let annual renewals happen but check the contract still accurately reflects your actual product usage; if it doesn’t, ask for a reduction. Challenge all your suppliers to come up with creative ideas that result in a net reduction in their annual support and maintenance costs. For example, if you have a core product that you’ll still be using in 3 years time, why not switch your annual renewal contract for a new 3 year fixed price deal at a lower annual cost? It’s good for you and good for your supplier as they get a term extension and a revenue lock-in for a longer period.   

3/ Wait for the best deal. Suppliers sales pipelines have really thinned out this year, so any deal still on the table has become even more precious. Find out when their financial year end is and use it to your best advantage.

I was asked by a client this afternoon to give him some quick tips on negotiating the best deals. He has just taken on a new role which will mean he is negotiating face to face with IT suppliers for the first time. Previously, he had an IT Procurement person doing the negotiations for him, but his Company has made the Procurement person redundant as a cost saving measure. Now I’m not sure getting rid of IT Procurement people at this time is a cost saving measure; it’ll probably end up costing the Company more when they overpay for IT stuff in the future due to lack of IT Procurement skills in-house. But anyway, in answer to my client’s request for some quick tips, I said there are three main ways to get the best deals: No.1: Ask for a better deal. Don’t be shy; just ask. If that fails, then No.2: Ask again. And if that fails, then No.3: Ask again but ask louder this time. Now I know this is an awfully simple way to approach negotiations, but as a rule of thumb it’s a great way to get things started. And not just in IT but when ever you want to negotiate a better deal for anything ; new TV, car, house, pay rise, golfing weekend away, what ever. Ask, ask again, and then ask louder. Remember, you don’t get if you don’t ask.