Incremental Steps
Move toward agreement in small steps rather than a single big leap — easier to commit to, harder to refuse.
Diamond observed that big asks fail more often than small ones, even when they''re materially identical. The incremental technique sequences the deal into a series of small commitments — agree on quality first, then timeline, then payment terms, then price — rather than presenting the package as one monolithic decision. Each small yes builds commitment-and-consistency; refusing the final step would mean undoing all the prior agreements, which feels worse than just saying yes.
Example
You
"Forget the price for a second. Can we agree the substrate spec is non-negotiable?"
Counterpart
"Yes."
You
"And the lead time has to be 14 weeks?"
Counterpart
"Yes."
You
"Then we''re actually only negotiating about how to pay for what we already agreed needs to happen."
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