CENTROID TRAINING & MARKETING
7 Tips To Negotiate Smarter
From A Position Of Weakness
Negotiating from a position of weakness happens to us all on a daily,
weekly or monthly basis. Negotiating from a weak stance happens for a
variety of reasons:




Scarcity
Time compressed or decompressed
Lack of knowledge
Lack of technology



Lack of funds
Fear
And others…
Winston Churchill may have been the greatest negotiator from a position of weakness in modern
history. He understood the above reasons for smart negotiation from a weak stance and he made the
most of it.
Modern business and political diplomacy learned a lot from Sir Winston and his battle against the Axis of
Evil in World War ll. Owing to Churchill’s superb decision making process and brilliant tactics/strategy in
negotiating with The USA, USSR, France and his own countrymen what have we garnered?
We can negotiate smarter from a position of weakness if we observe just a few of the following
stratagems Churchill employed:
1) Appear strong
5) Admit weakness strategically
2) Show leadership! Propose solutions.
6) Get creative! Innovate.
3) Build partnerships
7) Sell fear/bullying!
4) Sell futures
1) Appear Strong - This has to be the oldest stratagem ever, however, it makes the other side
think twice. Remember the quote from Churchill’s famous World War ll speech, “ We shall
defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on
the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we
shall never surrender.” This speech put Britain’s enemies on notice. We can do the same with
our negotiation partners but in less bellicose terms.
2) Show leadership! Propose Solutions.- In his time of dire need Churchill ground out more
proposals for help for his British people than imaginable. At times, Winston had multiple
secretaries working two shifts a day! By doing so he was taking control of the narrative. He
was opening negotiation discussions on his terms and scope. When in a weak negotiation
position we must ask ourselves…in spite of the tough spot we are in is it not wiser to be in the
tent driving the direction of the end game?
3) Build Partnerships - Strategic partnerships are paramount for poorly positioned negotiators.
Britain was being smashed by the German Air Force and its Naval Submarine command. The
UK’s food sources were being sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic. The British faced the
possibility of starvation. Churchill needed The USA to join The British in the War against Hitler.
Churchill wrote, called out to and cajoled Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) then US President to help
save the British and The world. Just prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor FDR moved toward
Churchill in offering more than just materials and food. It was a long negotiation, years in the
Copyright Centroid Marketing 2013
QL41_Final
CENTROID TRAINING & MARKETING
4)
5)
6)
7)
making. So, remember Winston, when you are in a tough spot in a business negotiation and
need to develop a strategic partnership. Tip? Do not rule out your competitors as potential
negotiating partners.
Sell Futures -With the British Empire breaking up and on the way to bankruptcy Churchill
negotiated key land rights for naval bases with President Roosevelt. Both leaders were
negotiating future opportunities. Churchill put in play one of his last negotiation chips to keep
his country afloat. When businesses of all stripes face late payments or a financial squeeze the
first thing they do is negotiate futures. Think about how many companies Warren Buffett
negotiated with in the 2008 financial crisis on the basis of these companies selling futures. It
was a Win/win!
Admit Strategic Weakness - Churchill secretly admitted Britain’s military and economic
weaknesses to FDR while boldly telling Hitler that if the Nazi’s invaded Britain …the “Brits”
would fight to the last man. This confession of weakness to a potential negotiation partner
showcased Churchill as a savvy negotiator and a leader to be trusted. In a key negotiation from
a weak position imagine the courage it took for Churchill to pull the curtain back! Remember
Winston. Be smart and save your negotiation!
Get Creative! Innovate. – As World War ll progressed Britain’s factories, buildings and homes
were being bombed to rubble. Materials and food were being sunk by Nazi submarines.
However, England was innovating. Looking for a new edge! The English were working on an
infantile experiment with the idea of combining bomb mentality, fusion science and uranium.
Part of Britain’s creative negotiation for more supplies was its Atomic Bomb Science which it
shared in full with The United States. Question? In a weak negotiation position how will your
company add hidden value with your creative innovations to give you greater strength at the
negotiation table?
Sell fear/bullying - Safe to say Churchill was brilliant in alarming the world that Hitler was
unjustly invading his neighboring countries with a much wider and more monovalent plan in
mind. I can tell you from personal experience if you want to mess up a large company you are
negotiating with…just tell them you feel like you are being bullied with their tactics and that
their course of business is preventing you from making money. Especially, if you can get to a
VP/C Suite Officer of the company you are negotiating with. These executives cringe at a
bullying narrative because it casts a noisy light upon them. Remember, senior executives do
not like noisy issues that are sticky. Many will fold like a tent and become very conciliatory if
you know how to gently push their hot buttons!
When negotiating from a weak position remember Winston Churchill! Never give in!
For more information or to comment, please contact [email protected]
or call 1-705-657-2518.
Patrick Tinney
Managing Partner
Centroid Training & Marketing
centroidmarketing.com
Copyright Centroid Marketing 2013
QL41_Final