It’s 9:11 on a Friday morning.

I’m in the middle of a negotiation, and there is a pause in the action.

For strategic purposes, I have resolved I will not communicate, next. If this means the deal, as offered to this point, is off, so be it. I can and will live with that.

But in the meantime, I’m tracking very carefully the sequence of give and take, who is offering what, and most important, WHEN?

“Clocking your negotiations” is as critical to making a good deal as monitoring the way your opponent is “playing the clock” in football or basketball. Are they letting the clock run out, as I’m doing right now, in this negotiation?

It’s 9:15…

If I get a call or an email pertaining to this deal within the next hour, this tells me something very important.

My project is a high-priority for my counterpart, because he has scheduled his contact during my “prime time,” my presumed first hour in the office. This would give me a chance to read and consider whatever he has to say, and to come to terms before the weekend.

But if I don’t hear from him until the afternoon, he’s sending a signal that he wants me to ruminate over the deal points during Saturday and Sunday, and not to reflexively reject his offer.

If he waits until early next week to contact me, or if he doesn’t respond for a full week or even two, he’s still working the clock, in a manner that’s visible and permissible to me.

Quietly, without fanfare, I’m charging him a “patience premium,” a levy of a soon-to-be-determined amount that is predicated, in part, by his clockmanship.

Sooner or later, without another round of communications, the clock will run out, and the game will be over.

As a seasoned negotiator I realize this won’t signify a win or a loss, but a draw, and this is a perfectly agreeable outcome.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman teaches his original seminar, “Best Practices in Negotiation” at a number of universities, corporations, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies. A top-rated keynote speaker at conventions and conferences around the world, he is also the best-selling author of 12 books, and more than 1,500 articles, which appear in approximately 25,000 publications. An attorney and communications professional, his expert commentary is featured on CNBC television and on numerous radio stations. Additionally, Dr. Goodman is the creator of Nightingale-Conant’s successful audio seminar: THE LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS: HOW TO MAKE SUCCESS INEVITABLE.

See: http://www.nightingale.com/prod_detail~product~Law_Large_Numbers.aspx

His web site is http://www.customersatisfaction.com and he can be reached at gary@customersatisfaction.com.

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