A Great Line For Negotiating: I'm Just Brainstorming

Years ago, I accidentally came up with a great line for negotiating: “I’m just brainstorming.” It’s perfect for situations where you want to float an idea without getting locked into a commitment.

Here’s how I (accidentally!) came up with it.

I was working on a potentially life-changing deal with a major professional services firm.

There was just one snag: The business model we used to sell didn’t match the business model they typically used to buy.

It could have been a showstopper.

But there was value on the table: Our product met a need and we DEFINITELY wanted to do business with them.

So it was time to figure out how to put a square peg into a round hole.

You’d LOVE to approach a negotiation like that as a joint problem-solving exercise. You both want the deal to happen. You’re working together to find a way.

But at the beginning, you don’t really know what kind of person you’re dealing with on the other side. Do they see it as a win-win interaction or are they more the scorched earth type?

You’d love to build trust and collaborate but you don’t want to get burned.

I had an idea. I wanted to see if it was worth exploring. I introduced it by saying “I’m just brainstorming, but what about XYZ.”

The counterparty was excited - my idea could work for them. So I tried to get it approved on my side.

The answer was no; it wouldn’t work for us.

So I went back to the counterparty with an update. They were pissed: “But YOU SAID YOU COULD!!!”

And at that point, everything was clear to me. I remembered saying “I’m just brainstorming….”

It was a line that stood out: I couldn’t forget saying it and they couldn’t have missed it when I said it.

They were trying to back me into a corner that I hadn’t put myself in.

So I reminded them that I said “I’m just brainstorming” and they had to concede the point.

I also knew who I was dealing with. I’d tried to approach it as a collaboration; it hadn’t worked.

And that was OK. I had lost nothing.

If they didn’t want to be collaborative, that was their choice.

Game on.

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