Personal Reflection On Negotiation

When my wife approached me with the idea of getting a dog, I figured I would have a difficult negotiation ahead of me. However, when she decided she would like to get a rare breed, I adhered to a wise and tested piece of marriage advice: pick your battles. In my mind, rare meant the price of the dog would be high. I concluded I would not negotiate with my wife about purchasing a dog; rather, I would negotiate with a breeder to agree on a price of somewhere between $1,200 - $2,000. The price range was based on my initial research of quality dogs for our preferred type of breed.
As I began to prepare for the negotiation process, I reflected on how my negotiation style could impact the outcome. Although evidence for the effects of personality on negotiation outcomes is not very conclusive, I still presumed I could use my accommodating style to my advantage in this scenario. Specifically, I believed a clear effort to build a relationship with the breeder could set me up for success. I assumed breeders are emotionally invested in the puppies they are selling and want to trust and like the buyers. In reaching out to the breeder, Patrick, to indicate …show more content…
My wife and I simply wanted this type of breed and had very good exchanges with Patrick that increased my willingness to pay. Despite our strong desire to close a deal, I could have done a much better job developing a BATNA that would shrink my ZOPA. Another issue with my spending so much time building a relationship with Patrick was that it significantly increased the costs of developing a strong BATNA. I would have had to invest a lot of time establishing trust with another breeder or researching other breeds to feel comfortable in being more aggressive. The obvious and simple lesson is to always have a strong BATNA, but I would add that it is important to consider how a primary negotiating strategy will affect the difficulty of developing a strong