adr international Procurement consultants

Question of influence

You can beat your supplier over the head, argue them into submission or dazzle them with your guile. As a procurement professional with a budget at your command, you hold all the cards.

If you’re looking for a more positive, longer-lasting relationship which will ultimately bring superior results, however, you can try a more enlightened approach.

As a modern practitioner of the art of negotiation, you can influence your suppliers in a way that will bring them round to your way of thinking painlessly and positively.

The American psychologist Robert Cialdini is the guru of influencing skills. He has spent 35 years studying the psychology of how people influence one another.

Cialdini says there are six forms of influence. First there is reciprocation. This when someone offers you something, making you feel obliged to give something back.

The second form of influence is consistency. People who maintain the same arguments and approach, he says, are more convincing than people who change their minds.

“Social proof”, says Cialdini, means that if someone else has done something successfully, you believe their approach will also work for you.
“Liking” is important. That friendly lunch or chat over a cup of coffee can play a vital role in clinching a deal.

Maintaining an air of authority can be useful, says Cialdini. You are more likely to be persuaded by people who are experts in their field.

Finally, “scarcity” can be a clincher, as every salesperson knows - if you fear there will be a shortage of something you want, you will want it all the more. “Buy now while stocks last” is the classic sales mantra.

So as the purchaser on the other side of the negotiating table to the expert salesperson, the more you understand the tricks of the trade, the more able you will be to counter them effectively.

Here are some tips on how to deal with the main forms of influence in negotiation.

Reciprocation - sales people offer dinners and gifts to encourage people to buy from them. To avoid being influenced, organisations often have polices where items of value may not be accepted from suppliers.

But non-tangible gifts of information, flattery and preferential service can also be dangerous as they create a sense of obligation to cancel the debt. Give as good as you get by providing non-confidential things in return – insights, muffins for the meeting and courtesies all have create the requirement to return a favour.

Consistency - sales negotiators will try to pick holes in buyer’s negotiation arguments by showing how they are not consistent with views of other people or strategies in the buying organisation. Ensure that all parties involved in supplier relationships have a shared message during the tender process to avoid being caught out.

Social Proof - suppliers will use references and case studies to show buyers their experience. Always take time to check them out. Have a conversation with the organisations named in the case studies, and arrange for telephone calls with the colleagues of those named as references. Do they back up the story?

 Liking - suppliers will form affinities with buyers such as allegiance to the same sports team or similar interests as a way to build relationships. Sometimes buyers resist this by removing all personal references from their environment. But remember this form of influence cuts both ways. Sometimes you may need a favour from your supplier, and having an excuse to call based on a shared interest is a way of using the relationship to your advantage.

Authority - suppliers will use their knowledge of the industry in negotiations. Think of how you will create your own authority by using data from reputable sources, or introducing to the negotiation a colleague who is a technical expert.

Scarcity - use this to your advantage by negotiating at a time of year when the sales person is most keen to make an agreement - often their year-end.

No-one wants to feel they have been duped. But with a working knowledge of the influencing skills identified by Cialdini, purchasers and sellers can reach deals that make both parties happy and lay the foundations for long-lasting, productive relationships.

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