| The first principle of personal injury negotiating is: ask | | | | My law school classmate Mel Smith used to say "the |
| for more than you expect to get. | | | | first one to name a number loses." Asking for more |
| To apply this correctly you need to know what your | | | | than you expect is a way of naming a number without |
| case is worth but that's a whole other article. | | | | naming a number. |
| Once you have a ball park idea of your case's value | | | | 3) It increases the perceived value of your case. |
| multiply it by three for example. Use that as your | | | | By asking for a lot you cause the other side to begin |
| starting point. I like to think of it as an "invitation to | | | | to see your case as valuable. |
| negotiate." | | | | 4) It sets the stage for settlement |
| Roger Dawson is one of the country's top experts on | | | | Asking for more than you expect sets the stage for |
| negotiation. He is founder of the Power Negotiating | | | | you to come down (to your true valuation) and the |
| Institute and the author of "Secrets of Power | | | | other side feels they have had a success and got a |
| Negotiating." The audio version of his book has sold | | | | good bargain. |
| over 548 thousand copies, is one of | | | | Robert Cialdini in "Influence-Science and Practice" |
| Nightingale-Conant's top sellers and is one of the best | | | | describes this as "perceptual contrast." |
| selling business audio programs ever published. | | | | "There is a principle in human perception, the contrast |
| If you read his book-which I highly recommend-you will | | | | principle, that affects the way we see the difference |
| find in Chapter 1, that his very first principle is "Ask for | | | | between two things that are presented one after |
| More Than You Expect to Get." | | | | another. Simply put, if the second item is fairly different |
| Henry Kissinger put it like this: "Effectiveness at the | | | | from the first, we will tend to see it as more different |
| conference table depends upon overstating one's | | | | than it actually is." |
| demands. | | | | You have made your opening demand fairly different |
| Why would you want to ask for more than you | | | | by asking for a lot more than you expect. This makes |
| expect to get? | | | | your case seem more valuable and also allows the |
| 1) It allows room to negotiate. You can always come | | | | other side to take a huge win from the fact that they |
| down but you can never-or almost never-go back up | | | | were able to settle the case much lower than the |
| once you have named a number. | | | | opening number. |
| At a mediation recently we learned that the other side | | | | Downside |
| was still considering our position to be the last number | | | | A downside of asking for more than you expect is |
| we gave before we filed suit a year earlier. A lot more | | | | that sometimes you won't be taken seriously by your |
| was known about her physical condition and it was a | | | | opponent. Your demand may be too far out of their |
| lot worse than we had thought before filing suit. Finding | | | | conceptual ballpark. In that case they might make a |
| out that our demand was twice the pre-suit amount, | | | | very low offer in response or not make an offer at all. |
| the other side was ready to walk out. | | | | The solution? Communication. Talk to them. Ask what |
| It took some careful work by a very skilled mediator to | | | | is going on. Why aren't they offering? Or, why are |
| get them to stay. | | | | they offering so little? They'll tell you and that will give |
| 2) Their valuation might actually be higher than yours. | | | | you the clue to your next move. |
| Though rare in my business it does happen | | | | Summary |
| occasionally that the other side puts a higher value on | | | | Ask for more than you expect to get. You just might |
| the case than you expect. Starting with demand | | | | be surprised and at the very least you have set the |
| number much higher than your valuation allows them | | | | stage for a successful resolution. |
| to come in at a number higher than yours. | | | | |