Most people have heard the cliché, ‘silence is golden.’ If that’s true, how can silence lead to gold, when negotiating?
A business associate told me of a situation she encountered, when suggesting a price for a service provided by her company. Once she gave her prospective customer the price, the prospect didn’t say a word, nothing, nada, for several moments. My associate, feeling uncomfortable, started giving extra services, on top of what had already been offered, to get her prospect back into the mind set of considering her company to do business with. After more time passed, finally the prospect said OK to the offer.