The Higher Authority

Employers love to use the “Higher Authority” gambit to negotiate with applicants. They are better off telling you that they have to check with the hiring committee for approval or some other unapproachable vague entity.

To counter the Higher Authority gambit when it’s applied to you:

• Remember the use of Higher Authority is a way of putting pressure on people without confrontation.
• Try to remove the other person’s resort to higher authority before the negotiations even start by getting her to admit that she can make a decision if the proposal is attractive.
• Communicate you have options; this gives you power in the negotiation.

If this fails:

• Appeal to their ego, you may say: “I understand you have to run this through the executive committee, but I am pretty sure they always follow your recommendations, don’t they?”
• Get her commitment that she’ll recommend you to her higher authority: “So, I may assume you will recommend me to the executive committee?” At this point they may reveal there is no higher authority.
• Go to a qualified “Subject-To” Close: “So once I’ve passed the background check, I can consider myself hired?”
  
• You can use the Higher Authority Gambit yourself when you are being forced to make a decision before you’re ready to do so; you may say you need to talk it through with “your people”.
• If they are using escalating authority on you (deal reverted or stopped at a higher level), revert to your opening position at each level and introduce your own levels of escalating authority.