When is the best time in a negotiation to trade concessions?

Jane is planning for a forthcoming negotiation with a key supplier. She has learned what are important to the supplier and what are important to her company from previous contracts between them. In order to avoid negotiation deadlocks, she has set up several concession plans. But Jane has little experience in dealing with suppliers and doesn’t know when to trade these concessions.

When is the best time in a negotiation to trade concessions?
A . In the testing phase
B . In the proposing phase
C . At bargaining stage
D . At opening stage

Answer: C

Explanation:

The question asks about the point in time when Jane should make concessions with the supplier. These concessions should be traded after preliminary stages such as opening, testing and proposing are over and proposals move from being tentative and general to being more definite and specific. This stage is called bargaining phase. The bargaining phase is the ‘meat’ of the negotiation meeting. LO 3, AC 3.1