I, along with my Purchase manager, was responsible for the upgrade of some equipment. Our task was to shortlist a vendor and place the order. The purchase manager was at his best in negotiating & was successful in bringing down the price.

However, there was a disagreement on the terms of payment. This deadlock continued for a few days. 

Hence I met up with the purchase manager & told him that our deadline to complete was nearing. He said that he is aware of it & willing to accept the vendor's payment terms.

During the conversation, the vendor called & the purchase manager took off in his usual negotiating style and succeeded in getting a better deal.

I heaved a sigh of relief with the deal done over the phone. Before leaving the purchase manager's desk, I asked, "You said that you were ok with the terms of payment & why did you still negotiate when the vendor called?"

Grinning, came the reply, “If I had called him, I would have agreed to his terms, since he called, I realized that he was desperate.

It is a question of who blinks first"