>there is an incentive to get the most out of the individual negotiation since you almost certainly will never see each other again
You've got great insights here. That said, I can't help but think that perception - that it is a one-time, transaction relationship - is a key difference between winners and losers. What I mean is, from the standpoint of the salesperson, they should be seeking a long-term win and not just a win in this transaction. We'll use your example of a car, but I can think of many other places where this also applies. In the the car situation - you really want to sell / lease them the car, but you also want there services business. You want them to tell their friends to come buy from you. You want them to come back in 5-10 years and buy/ lease their next car from you. None of that happens if they walk away feeling like it wasn't a fair situation.
Likewise, even in a seemingly "done" negotiation, things have a way of cropping up. Like the buyer comes to take possession of the car and decides that the tires look more worn than what they believe, and suddenly want to renegotiate. Or, maybe you've agreed on price already, have started signing the paperwork, but then the salesperson wants to upsell you on the truecoat. Point being - I think you were even more right than you may have intended, in terms of the ongoing nature of negotiations rather than a fixed-position scenario.
You've got great insights here. That said, I can't help but think that perception - that it is a one-time, transaction relationship - is a key difference between winners and losers. What I mean is, from the standpoint of the salesperson, they should be seeking a long-term win and not just a win in this transaction. We'll use your example of a car, but I can think of many other places where this also applies. In the the car situation - you really want to sell / lease them the car, but you also want there services business. You want them to tell their friends to come buy from you. You want them to come back in 5-10 years and buy/ lease their next car from you. None of that happens if they walk away feeling like it wasn't a fair situation.
Likewise, even in a seemingly "done" negotiation, things have a way of cropping up. Like the buyer comes to take possession of the car and decides that the tires look more worn than what they believe, and suddenly want to renegotiate. Or, maybe you've agreed on price already, have started signing the paperwork, but then the salesperson wants to upsell you on the truecoat. Point being - I think you were even more right than you may have intended, in terms of the ongoing nature of negotiations rather than a fixed-position scenario.