Crisis Negotiation Compliance Techniques - Essay Example

Crisis Negotiation Compliance Techniques Crisis Negotiation Compliance Techniques Skilled negotiators hold compliance techniques explicitly: social proofs, scarcity principle, rule of reciprocity, liking, and consistency. The techniques are used to influence people in making decisions by use of persuasion. Salesmen apply the compliance techniques to induce customers into acquiring a certain product or service (McMains, Mullins, 2010). Scarcity principle is defined as a theory that is used in economics and implies that, high demand, combined with limited supply results to loss of pricing equilibrium. Forces of supply as well as demand normally stabilize prices, but the value of a purchase by a buyer changes in times of scarcity. This results to new market conditions for the scarce services along with goods (McMains, Mullins, 2010). When salesmen are trying to sell a product to customers, they limit its availability and that of its competitors. In this way, they create a market gap where after proper advertising and promotion, customers will be willing to purchase the same product at a higher price. Customers are more likely to accept a request from a sales person they like than an unreceptive one. They can like a person for several reasons including compliments, physical attraction, similarity, association, and familiarity (McMains, Mullins, 2010). Salesmen in most companies are aware of the compliance technique, and ensure customers like them from the introductory phrase, to when they make the purchase. As part of physical attraction, most salesmen approach female customers and vice-versa. They make the customer associate with the product through persuasion, and also use of compliments to create a bond between the salesperson and the customer. As they interact, the customer is more likely to procure the product if he likes and can associate with the sales person. Social proof is a psychological supposition of other people’s actions to be a sign of actual conduct in certain occurrences. This is mainly in unusual social situations that make it hard for people to instantly establish the required mode of behavior. The driving assumption is that the people around are aware and have insight on the situation (McMains, Mullins, 2010). When purchasing a product, the salesman explains the product’s functionality and importance to a customer. The customer assumes that the salesman has knowledge on the manufacture, composition, and effects of the product. As a form of promotion, the salesman will mainly focus on the product’s advantages hence influencing the customer’s buying decision. People also buy products to fit in with their friends who already own similar brands. When convincing a customer to purchase a certain service or product, the salesman needs to be consistent in his statements and acts. Consistency makes the customer believe the salesman is well aware of the product, and not just trying to make a quick sale. Customers mostly ask questions especially on the functionality of various products, and the salesman is required to provide accurate and consistent information. Inconsistent information given by a salesperson during negotiation creates a bad image for the latter, and the company at large. Customers expect salespeople to be conversant with the products they deal with, and to provide consistent information (Simintiras, 2006). Reciprocity is also a compliance technique used by salesmen, which involves giving positive responses for positive actions (McMains, Mullins, 2010). People get supportive when approached with friendly actions as compared to those of personal interest. When running a sales promotion, salespeople approach customers mostly by first issuing them a gift or free sample. This creates a feeling of friendliness on the customer who will feel enticed to buy. If a customer is approached with hostility, there is a high probability of refusal to purchase or even brutality. The techniques are also used by advertisers to improve a product’s acceptance by customers. Scarcity is not heavily used in advertising though it’s applied to products that need promotion for a limited period. This is done using slogans like ‘for limited time only’ and ‘while stocks last’. Customers will hurry to purchase the products before the given time frame, mostly at a cheaper price. Adverts include good graphics, relevant information, and maybe funny comments to make customers like the product. Boring adverts that do not give precise information work against the company, and customers are not likely to purchase the product. If customers like an advert, there is a high chance of an increase effect in general sales. Social proof also applies in advertising where customers are made to think that everybody else is using the product. Adverts normally give information on the functionality of a given product, and then give a good reason for purchase. People are inclined to buy products that are commonly used by friends and people around them. Due to the high cost of advertising, companies have to ensure they provide convenient and consistent information in order to woo customers. Most companies use constant characters or logos in their advertisements to create consistency. Customers associate the logos and characters to a product, which makes it easier for them to remember and identify the product on the counter. When a company advertises, it is mainly for a new product, an upgrade of an already existing product, or an offer. In that case, reciprocity occurs as customers will be willing to buy so as to get the new experience or win the offer (Simintiras, 2006). My latest experience with a sales person was during the purchase of my laptop from a computer shop. I just had a budget set from my online research on laptops and I needed a salesman to assist me in making an advised decision. She was willing to help me with the choice and applied several compliance techniques to influence my decision. The saleslady was very courteous and eloquent, and I liked her from the start. She had just graduated and we talked about school for a bit as she recommended the best laptops for students. She understood why I needed the laptop and the specifications that were necessary for a home computer. A social proof, she showed me their sales records and statistics why most students preferred a specific brand of laptops. When I first got into the shop and gave my budget, the saleslady had recommended a certain laptop, which she consistently requested me to pick. Her negotiation techniques played a part in influencing my final decision on the purchase I made. Both negotiators and salesmen require proper communication skills to effectively carry out their tasks. Negotiators need to be convincing enough to alter people’s decisions without force, and so do salespeople. However, a negotiator uses more compliance techniques as compared to a sales person. In a negotiation, the other party has the ability to research and counter information and theories given (Reardon, 2005). It is unusual for customers to argue with salesmen since there is an assumption that he knows all the necessary information. A good salesman possesses negotiation techniques, but would not make a good negotiator. This is because a salesman only focuses on a given product or brand while crisis negotiation requires vast knowledge in several fields (Strentz, 2006). References McMains, M. J., & Mullins, W.C. (2010). Crisis negotiations: managing critical incidents and hostage situations in law enforcements and correction, 4th Edition. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Co. Reardon, K. K. (2005). Becoming a Skilled Negotiator. New York: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Simintiras, A. C. (2003). International business negotiations. Bradford, England: Emerald Group Pub. Strentz, T. (2006). Psychological aspects of crisis negotiation. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis. Read More