“Too Good To Be True?” – Sunday Negotiation Insight

“Sunday Negotiation Insight”

 

“There’s nothing so good as that which appears to be too good to be true, and then it turns out to be so.” – Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

 

 

“Too Good To Be True?”

 

Have you ever encountered an offer that appeared to be too good to be true? We’ve all had such experiences. In the times you can recall, what were your thoughts when that happened to you? Did you test the premise, and if you did, to what degree did you test it? I offered those questions so you’d become reflective. You see, even though you may have had many situations occur that appeared to be too good to be true, to the degree you tested each premise, you impacted your perception of future occurrences. That means you may be passing up opportunities if you think they’re too good to be true simply because they weren’t in the past.

You may have thought after experiencing several such situations, this is similar to something I experienced in the past. That turned out not to be true, or worse, I was harmed as the result of believing what turned out to be a scam, a trick, a mirage. I’d better not do that again. True, you should be wary of things that harm you, but not to the degree that you refuse to attempt something simply because it looks like something that harmed you in the past. Those who cling to the cliché, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”, is only setting themselves up to be the fool of missed opportunity.

Here’s the point, you should always attempt to maintain a balance between being overly adventurous and overly cautious. I can’t tell you what that balance is for you because it differs from one individual to the next. Once you find it, create a model that will help you identify the equilibrium between the two. Doing so will allow you to engage the gage that allows you to gauge the potential of future opportunities better. From there, you will have broken the mental harness that’s reminiscent of what may appear too good to be true … and everything will be right with the world.

 

What does this have to do with negotiations?

 

You have to be cautious when negotiating, but not to the degree that you miss opportunities. There are many factors in a negotiation that might account for why the other negotiator makes an offer that appears too good to be true. You’d be right to question the offer, but also consider the circumstances under which the offer is made. Therein may lie the solace needed to sooth your doubtful mind.

 

What are your takeaways? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 

Remember, you’re always negotiating!