Take It or Leave It
Laying down a final offer can get you what you want.
Two situations call for final offers: when you can't do any
better, or when it'll force the other side to close quickly.
Either way, choose your words carefully. You don't want to box
yourself in. A good all-purpose delivery: "This is the best I
can do under the circumstances." It is final, but leaves room
for change.
If you're receiving a last offer, be sensitive to
brink-manship. Test a "take it or leave it" too
aggressively, and an opponent may dig in their heels just to save
face.
A little diplomacy is better. Consider ignoring the offer and
continuing negotiating: "I'd also like to finish up
quickly, but we still need to talk about . . . ." If a
deadline is involved, become "unavailable." Or try my
favorite tactic--open-ended questions: "Why did you decide to
make your last offer just now?" "Under what circumstances
would you make a better offer?" The answers may give you just
the opening you need.
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Many perceive a final offer as a high-risk gambit, but it really
isn't. You can always make another. You have nothing to lose,
except perhaps a little face.
A speaker and attorney in Los Angeles, Marc Diener is author
of Deal Power.