Doing business well relies on both talking and walking: talking with your mouth and walking with your legs. Hard work is important, but if you can't negotiate good terms or achieve good results, you'll exhaust yourself without reaping rewards. Anyone in business knows the importance of negotiation, but many struggle to do it well. Not everyone is suited for negotiation, nor does everyone have the ability. Negotiation is a skilled task that requires business knowledge, industry insight, communication skills, and quick thinking. Of course, ordinary business personnel can handle routine communications, but for large, important negotiations—such as annual contracts, major promotions, new product launches, large visual merchandising displays, and model store operations—the difficulty means negotiations won't be smooth. They require careful strategic and tactical planning and execution. Hence, such negotiations need to be led by people at appropriate levels. At the same time, negotiation strategies must be carefully considered. Here we recommend a "White + Black" tactic.
The "White + Black" tactic involves negotiators playing the roles of the 'good cop' and 'bad cop'. To use this tactic, you need two negotiators: the 'white face' should be the salesperson responsible for the store, and the 'black face' can be a leader at some level. The two negotiators should not attend the first round of negotiations together. Typically, the first round is about probing, not revealing your hand. So, it's suitable for the 'white face' salesperson to attend, listen to what the store demands, gauge their attitude, and make a preliminary judgment on the room for maneuver and key conflicts, then actively express that they will strive for support. The second negotiator plays the 'black face', who will overturn the store's previous conditions and firmly present their own, with a significant gap between the two sets of conditions, even angering the store. That's correct, because their responsibility is to provoke reactions like "This person is tough" or "Dealing with this opponent is really bad luck." The first negotiator, the salesperson following up with the store, plays the 'white face', acting as a 'peace angel', smoothing things over, calming the store's emotions, showing understanding of the buyer's difficulties, and complaining about the company's unreasonableness together. They should also express, with a good attitude, that they will definitely go to the company to fight for policies and support the buyer's work, giving the other party face and a way out, making them feel "At least there's someone reasonable; this can still be discussed." Buyers often feel superior to salespeople, so they tend to make exorbitant demands. Should we give in? Of course not, but salespeople, limited by their authority and close relationship, can't say no directly. So, a suitable person needs to step in to suppress the buyer's arrogance and give them a sense of frustration. Thus, the 'white face' and 'black face' alternate, taking turns, and the buyer will waver between relaxation and tension, gain and loss, high and low, as both sides test and challenge each other until the negotiation reaches an appropriate limit. This is a fascinating psychological game, comparing which side has more strategy, patience, and methods.
When both parties must resolve issues through negotiation, they won't terminate talks just because they're annoyed with the negotiator. So, before negotiating, you must observe the other party's attitude toward the negotiation and judge its importance. If it's a "can take it or leave it" matter, then the "White + Black" tactic won't be effective.
The effectiveness of the "White + Black" tactic hinges on the "joint operation" of the first and second negotiators. Combining soft and hard, gentle and firm, if the first negotiator's performance is inadequate, the second has no role to play. So, the tacit understanding and cooperation are crucial. Doing business is like being a person: stand tall, don't be afraid of offending the other party. If you're truly excellent, even if you subdue them, they will still admire you. Masters appreciate each other, like Li Yunlong and Chu Yunfei, who represent different sides but admire each other's personal charm.
Author: Huang Jing Huang Jing is an expert in store backend system design and a researcher on supplier-retailer relations. With over ten years of professional procurement experience, from state-owned large retail enterprises to foreign hypermarkets, she has served as procurement section chief, procurement manager, procurement director, and training director, giving her a comprehensive career in the modern retail industry. She has conducted in-depth research on supplier-retailer relations, especially on procurement issues, negotiation issues, fee issues, contract issues, and conflict resolution that concern suppliers.
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