This is a “win-win” negotiation approach! President Trump uses this strategy in one form or another, as do all shrewd negotiators. Here is how it works: Simply submit an opening proposal that the other party will agree to and get their firm commitment. You, on the other hand, have made no commitment at all because you said, “IF I could”.
This, psychologically, puts you in a stronger, negotiating position to get what you want. For example: I got a multi-million dollar advertising account because I asked one of America’s largest dairies if they “WOULD let me handle their advertising IF I could prove, in a Certified Taste-Test, that their milk tastes better than the milk from any other dairy?”
They laughed and said, “That’s impossible, because all dairies use the same breed of cows and the milk is processed and homogenized in exactly the same way. It would be impossible to taste any difference!”
Again, I asked them, “WOULD you IF I could?” Reluctantly, they agreed, adding, “We are not going to pay for a ridiculous Taste-Test! If you want to waste your own money, fine!” After completing a Certified Taste-Test in this dairy’s overwhelming favor, I got the account! If you are curious as to why their milk seemed to taste so much better than the others … see “Udderly Delicious” on page 74.
