The Risk of Rushing to Close: Why Speed Can Kill Negotiations
The Risk of Rushing to Close: Why Speed Can Kill Negotiations
In business, speed is often celebrated. Leaders are praised for quick decisions, fast execution, and rapid progress. But in negotiation, rushing to close can quietly destroy value, weaken relationships, and leave you with outcomes that look good on the surface but hurt in the long run.
Negotiation is not a sprint. It’s a process. And when you treat it as a race, you almost always leave money, influence, or opportunity on the table.
Why Leaders Rush to Close Deals
The urge to “get it done” is strong. Common triggers include:
Pressure from deadlines – leaders feel they’ll lose the deal if it isn’t signed quickly.
Discomfort with tension – the back-and-forth of negotiation feels stressful, so they rush to end it.
Fear of losing goodwill – they believe speed equals positivity in the relationship.
Cognitive fatigue – when the process drags, the brain craves closure, even at a cost.
While the intention is good – efficiency, momentum, decisiveness – the effect can be disastrous.
The Hidden Costs of Closing Too Quickly
You Miss Uncaptured Value
Negotiations often unlock creative solutions in later stages. Rushing skips those opportunities.You Send the Wrong Signal
If you’re too eager to close, the other side may suspect desperation – and push harder next time.You Build Fragile Agreements
Deals made too quickly often ignore underlying issues. They collapse later when unaddressed conflicts resurface.You Weaken Relationships
Ironically, partners may feel you didn’t invest enough time to truly understand their needs.
What Effective Negotiators Do Instead
Skilled negotiators know that pacing is as important as arguments. Instead of rushing, they:
Use pauses strategically. A moment of silence can open new space for information.
Think in phases, not moments. Negotiation has stages – exploration, proposals, adjustments, closure. Skipping phases creates fragility.
Check emotional climate. Sometimes slowing down helps regulate emotions on both sides.
Normalize time. By framing the process as valuable, not wasteful, they reduce pressure to rush.
Why My Course Teaches “Process Thinking”
Most traditional negotiation training focuses on tactics – what to say, how to counter, which strategy to use. But under pressure, leaders don’t fail because they lack tactics. They fail because they lose patience with the process.
That’s why in my online negotiation course, a core principle is learning to respect and manage pacing. You’ll practice:
How to recognize when you’re rushing into concessions,
Techniques to slow the conversation without losing momentum,
Using time as a source of leverage, not as a threat,
Building resilience so pressure doesn’t push you into premature closure.
Case Study: Executive in M&A Negotiations
An executive preparing for an acquisition deal admitted: “I always feel I need to close fast. The longer it drags, the weaker I feel.”
Through structured practice, he learned to manage silence, slow down discussions, and break the process into clear phases. Instead of forcing closure, he let the deal breathe.
The outcome? The final agreement included two additional terms that added long-term value to his company – opportunities that would have been lost had he rushed.
Final Thought
Speed is a competitive advantage in many areas of leadership. But in negotiation, speed can be your downfall.
The leaders who consistently achieve the best results are not those who close fastest – they are those who balance momentum with patience, and urgency with strategy.
If you want to stop rushing into weak deals and start leading negotiations with confidence, explore the full program here:
👉 https://www.michalchmielecki.com/online-negotiation-course
Negotiation is not about how fast you finish. It’s about how strong you finish.
Ready to close better deals, build stronger partnerships, and boost your confidence at the table? My online negotiation course delivers real-world strategies designed to help you master win-win negotiation from anywhere. Transform the way you negotiate start learning today!
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