People mislead others for a variety of reasons, especially
when making business deals. In some
cases, this is very common as both the buyer and the seller are trying to get
the best deal possible. Many people see
the cost of lying is less than the benefits of lying; therefore, lying seems
like the best option in certain situations.
(Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther, 2001)
There are several ways you can evaluate information and prepare yourself
for negotiations.
The first step you can take is to establish trust. Establishing trust will reduce the chance
that others will employ defensive justification during negotiations. (Hoch, et al., 2001) Another step you can take is to ask direct questions. When something is specifically addressed, it
makes it more difficult to lie about it on the spot. People are less likely to deceive you if you
are asking direct questions. Going along with asking direct question is to
listen carefully. The more you listen,
then you more you can understand how qualified this person is. Listening carefully will also provide you
with more questions to ask later on.
Lastly, it is important to pay attention to non-verbal cues. Sometimes these can speak louder than verbal
cues. After asking a question, pay
attention to changes in blinking, breathing, and other physical shifts. While this isn’t always completely accurate,
it can be a good indicator that someone may be deceiving you.
A recent negotiation I participated in, in which I had been
misled was when I purchased my first car.
While I prepared for this, as I knew car dealers are most likely trying
to deceive you, I still felt that I could have done better during the
negotiations. This was my first experience
buying a car on my own. I researched
online and found the perfect car at a great price, but I unfortunately didn’t
research enough and my lack of knowledge made me end up paying more. I noticed, however, that arriving prepared
did work to my advantage. I was trading
in my old car and brought along the market value in both the condition I felt
it was in, as well as the condition below that.
In both estimates, the car was valued significantly higher than what the
dealership was going to give me. I
showed them my paperwork and managed to double the price they were going to
give me. It was still less than what it
should have been, but I felt it was a step in the right direction for
understanding negotiations in situations like this better for next time.
A time in which I may have overstated a claim happened
recently at my current job. I work at a
higher end, experience based retailer.
People shopping in the store usually spend several hours walking around
and looking at the artwork and displays we have, as well as the product we
sell. It’s a unique place that offers a
variety of quality pieces for both home and apparel. I have a lot of experience working in high
end retail stores, so I know the type of customer we get. They usually do not want to know how much
they’re spending and expect the best quality product, so when we have someone
come in and ask a question as to why the product is worth the money, it can
catch you off guard. I first worked for
a company called Yves Delorme, which is a high-end bedding store. When I started the job, I was well versed in
why the products were as expensive as they were. With my background in fibers, I understood a
great deal of why the product was high quality, but expressing that to a
customer can sometimes be difficult. I
felt it was appropriate to review why the particular goose down feathers we
used were best for comforters, or why our sheets were a higher quality even
though the thread count seemed low to the average customer that walked in. It was an educational opportunity for me to
share with our customers, so that they could understand why they were spending
their money here and not somewhere else.
At my new retailer I work for, we get more of a variety of customers
since it caters to both young and older women, as well as people looking to
decorate their home. Because of this
demographic mix, we sometimes get a variety of responses to our prices. The products we sell are not our brand, but
other brands that represent the look of the store. I had a customer ask my why a particular top
was as expensive as it was, and I honestly didn’t have an answer for her. I was not prepared with knowledge of that
particular top and the brand, so I said it was a high-quality fabric. I felt guilty, but it’s near impossible to
know the product specs for every item in our store, as we have a lot of
inventory that changes often. She ended
up purchasing the product.
From my previous experience, I generally do not like to lead
people on to buy things that they might not feel comfortable spending that kind
of money on. I always think about myself
and being in a position where I know I shouldn’t be spending money on
something, but all I need is someone to say “oh just get it! You’ll love it”. I
find that difficult to do. I usually try
to find out about the person and what they’re looking for and then show them
the best options for what they need. It
is the ultimately their decision to purchase or not, given the information I
have provided.
Hoch, S.,
Kunreuther, H., & Gunther, R. (2001). Wharton on making decisions.
New York: Wiley.
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