When someone you’re negotiating with makes a completely unreasonable demand, how do you react?

Our reader poll today asks: When someone you’re negotiating with makes a completely unreasonable demand, how do you react?

• I counter with something I can accept 57.23% 
• I tell them they’re unreasonable and to come back with something better 30.39%
• I stop negotiating entirely 3.83%
• I ignore their demand and proceed as if it was never made 8.55%

Unreasonable demands can end a negotiation. While almost 60% of you will counter with a proposal you can accept when you get an unreasonable demand, 30% of you shut it down and another 4% walk away entirely. When negotiating, you must consider the implications of relationships. Making unreasonable demands can damage existing relationships and doom new ones. Ask yourself if the short-term benefit is worth it when you make what might be perceived as an unreasonable demand. Also question if the relationship will be worth it when the other party makes unreasonable demands. If there won’t be an ongoing relationship, working hard to get the best deal you can is acceptable – just recognize your reputation will follow you. Consider a successful negotiation to be one where everyone walks away from the table mildly dissatisfied. This feeling usually means everyone got a lot of what they wanted and no one gave up too much.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.