Delaying business negotiations vocabulary & phrases

Delaying business negotiations vocabulary & phrases

by Waine Evans

Delaying making a decision or stalling in business negotiations is both a common and successful strategy used by buyers (although some suppliers have been known to use it too).There are two main reasons for this. The first, is a tactic. The buyer wants to delay the negotiation in order to get a better offer from the seller. The second, is to wait for other offers. The buyer does not want to make a deal until he has received offers from other suppliers/providers. Most suppliers know that buyers do this, so are skilled in being able to deal with a buyer trying to delay making a decision. So, if you want to delay a negotiation, you need to be prepared for this and know how to respond to whatever the supplier tries to do or say. In this exercise on negotiations, we will both look at and I will explain the purpose of certain phrases in English that can be used by a buyer to delay a business negotiation. We will also look at what supplier will try to say and do to stop you doing this.

​Exercise. Delaying in Negotiations

Read the following two business negotiations where the buyers are trying to delay making a decision. In the first, the negotiation is for a service contract for IT support. In the second, the negotiation is for a contract for television components.

​Negotiation One

Seller: ‘So, here's a copy of the support contract that we're offering you.'

Buyer: ‘Do you mind if we have a few minutes to go over it?'

Seller: ‘Not at all. Take your time.'20 minutes later

Seller: ‘As you can see, we're offering you an excellent deal with full 24hour on-site and off-site support.'

Buyer: ‘It looks good. Could you clarify what exactly this means in your proposal?'

Seller: ‘It means that if there is a serious problem then the on-site support team can contact one of our senior developers. If they cannot resolve the problem remotely, they will come on site within 2 hours. Does that answer your question?'

Buyer: ‘Yes it does.'

Seller: ‘Well, if that's all, shall we start to talk about money?'

Buyer: ‘Sorry, before we move on, we require clarification of your procedures for data confidentiality.'

Seller: ‘Well, as is standard in the industry, all our staff have to sign a data confidentiality agreement before working with any new client. This prevents any external use of data.'

Buyer: ‘Sorry, I'm still not clear about it!'

Seller: ‘I have a copy of a confidentiality agreement here with me. Have a look at it.'5 minutes later

Seller: ‘Does that answer your question?'

Buyer: ‘I’m afraid that it doesn't say anything about performing criminal background checks on your staff. We're a bank and it's necessary that anyone who works for us has had one done.'

Seller: ‘Of course they are carried out.'

Buyer: ‘I’m afraid that we need it on paper before we can do anything. Can you put that in writing?'

Seller: ‘No problem, I'll send that to you today. And do you want to know our price?'

Buyer: ‘Send it to us when you send the copy of the checks procedures.'

Sellers’: Do you want to meet again this Friday?'

Buyer: ‘I’m afraid that we can't do this Friday. I'll let you know in a couple of days when we can meet.'

​Negotiation Two

Seller: ‘So, we'll reduce the price per unit to £4. It's a substantial reduction.'

Buyer: ‘So, if I'm correct, you're now offering a 35 pence reduction on the price of each component.'

Seller: ‘Yes. Do we have a deal?'

Buyer: ‘I’m afraid that I need to check with head office before I can make any decision.'

Seller: ‘No problem. I'll give you time to call them.'

​5 minutes later

Seller: ‘So, what's the decision?'

Buyer: ‘My boss wasn't there, so I left her a voice message.'

Seller: ‘You know you won't get a better price.'

Buyer: ‘I appreciate what you're doing, but I have to wait for her to call me back.'

Sellers’: what if we offer you an extra year's guarantee. But it's on condition that you order today.'

Buyer: ‘I’ll make a note of that, but it's out of my hands. When my boss calls me, I'll tell her.'

Seller: ‘It’s a one-off offer. We can't keep it open.'

Buyer: ‘I appreciate that, but I can't approve anything without the agreement of my boss first. So, my hands are tied. It's with my boss now.'

Seller: ‘Maybe it's better if I spoke with her.'

Buyer: ‘Look, this is going nowhere. I think we've both had a long day. I appreciate the concession that you have made, but I think we ought to sleep on it. I'll speak with you tomorrow.'

Multiple Choice

Questions, Delaying business negotiations vocabulary & phrases.

A way to repeat to somebody that the decision is now with somebody else,

• I am still not clear about it

• I am afraid that I need to check with

• This is going nowhere

• It is out of my hands

• Could you clarify what exactly this means

It is out of my hands:(phrase)

​

This phrase can be used by both buyers and sellers. It basically means that there is no point in trying to get/force you to make a decision, because it's not your decision to make. Normally, this is used after you have originally informed the other side/party that you cannot make the decision and you've passed it to the person who can, e.g. 'As I said before, I've passed it to my boss. It is her decision. It's out of my hands now'. It is commonly used when delaying a negotiation and is a lot politer than simply saying 'no' to an offer.

Multiple Choice

A polite way to inform somebody that they still have not explained something well,

• I am still not clear about it

• I am afraid that I need to check with

• This is going nowhere

• It is out of my hands

• Could you clarify what exactly this means

I am still not clear about it:(phrase)

​

This phrase can be used by both buyers and sellers. In theory this phrase means that you still do not understand something that someone has tried once or more times to explain to you. With delaying, it is used by people who understand what something means, but want to try to slow things down in a negotiation or even stop the meeting, e.g. 'I'm still not clear about it. Maybe it's better if you explain it to me in writing'.

Multiple Choice

A politer way to say that 'this is a waste of time',

• I am still not clear about it

• I am afraid that I need to check with

• This is going nowhere

• It is out of my hands

• Could you clarify what exactly this means

This is going nowhere:(phrase)

​

This phrase can be used by both buyers and sellers. This phrase is very direct, but it is not offensive. A lot depends on how you say it. It means that it is pointless continuing with meeting. It is used when the other side/party is being aggressive and trying to force you to make a deal and other delaying phrases/tactics have not worked. It's normally followed by a phrase like 'I think we should finish the meeting,' or 'I think we should sleep on it'.

Multiple Choice

A professional way to ask somebody to explain something to you,

• I am still not clear about it

• I am afraid that I need to check with

• This is going nowhere

• It is out of my hands

• Could you clarify what exactly this means

Could you clarify what exactly this means:(phrase)

​

This phrase can be used by both buyers and sellers. This polite phrase is used to ask somebody to explain something in a better and clearer way. With delaying, it is used by people who understand what something means but want to try to slow things down in a negotiation. 'this' in the phrase can be replaced with anything, e.g. 'can you clarify what exactly service level agreements mean?'. If you want to continue to delay with this method, you can follow the explanation given with 'I'm still not clear about it'.

​

Multiple Choice

A phrase which informs/tells the other side/party that the final decision is not yours,

• I am still not clear about it

• I am afraid that I need to check with

• This is going nowhere

• It is out of my hands

• Could you clarify what exactly this means

I am afraid that I need to check with:(phrase)

​

​This phrase can be used by both buyers and sellers. In this context, this phrase means that you cannot make the final decision and that you have to pass the offer/information to another person. It is normally followed by 'my boss' or 'head office'. It is commonly used in delaying when the other side/party have made an offer and you do not want to say either 'yes' or 'no'. It is often followed by the person making a phone call and then telling the other side/party that the person making the decision did not answer their phone and that you've left a voice message. It is an excellent method when wanting to delay.

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Multiple Choice

A different way to say, 'we should stop the negotiation for today',

• Before we move on, we require

• My hands are tied

• We cannot do

• Can you put that in writing

• I think we ought to sleep on it

I think we ought to sleep on it:(phrase)

​

This phrase can be used by both buyers and sellers. This is a polite phrase that sounds almost like a suggestion to finish the meeting for that day. 'I think we ought to sleep on it' is very commonly used. Instead of this phrase you could use 'I think we should call it a day', which means exactly the same. This last phrase is commonly used in both meetings and negotiations.

Multiple Choice

A different way to say, 'we need to talk about something before we continue',

• Before we move on, we require

• My hands are tied

• We cannot do

• Can you put that in writing

• I think we ought to sleep on it

Before we move on, we require:(phrase)

​

This phrase can be used by both buyers and sellers. In negotiations after an offer has been proposed, it is common to talk about the details of the offer (terms and conditions). It is normal that the side/party who has proposed the offer, will try as quickly as possible to move the conversation on to the subject of whether the other side will accept the offer, e.g. 'so what's your opinion of the offer?' The phrase 'before we move on, we require' is used as an answer to this if you do not want to go on to that subject. The phrase is normally followed by 'details of', 'confirmation of' or 'clarification of', e.g. 'before we move on, we require details of the delivery schedules'.

Multiple Choice

A different way to say, 'we can't attend',

• Before we move on, we require

• My hands are tied

• We cannot do

• Can you put that in writing

• I think we ought to sleep on it

We cannot do:(phrase)

​

This phrase can be used by both buyers and sellers. It is an informal way to say that cannot go to a meeting on a certain date, e.g. 'we can't do it on Tuesday'. It is normal and polite to give a reason why you can't attend, e.g. 'I have another meeting then'. The later the date of the meeting, the longer the decision is delayed.

Multiple Choice

A phrase that means that you do not have authority to do/agree to something,

• Before we move on, we require

• My hands are tied

• We cannot do

• Can you put that in writing

• I think we ought to sleep on it

My hands are tied:(phrase)

​

This phrase can be used by both buyers and sellers. This phrase means that you are not authorised to agree to something or make a decision by yourself. It is often used when refusing an offer, e.g. 'my boss says that the minimum that we can offer you is £4.00, so I can't agree to £3.80, my hands are tied'.

Multiple Choice

A phrase that asks somebody to confirm something on paper,

• Before we move on, we require

• My hands are tied

• We cannot do

• Can you put that in writing

• I think we ought to sleep on it

Can you put that in writing:(phrase)

​

This phrase can be used by both buyers and sellers? 'can you put that in writing,' or 'we need to see that in writing' means that you need to have something that has been said, to be written on paper. It is a very effective tactic when wanting to delay a negotiation, because it will generally mean that the meeting will have to finish so the person can write it. It is normal to say after this phrase 'we can't do anything before we see it in writing', which means that until you have it in writing you will not make any decision.