I made a huge mistake twice over the last two weeks.  Guess what it was?

Some person gave me a price and I accepted it without sucking in my breath and convincing them to lower it.  I did not negotiate and so I have probably ended up paying more than I should have.

You know, one of the best ways to increase your money is not to spend too much of it in the first place and negotiating on everything is absolutely essential to keep the money where it belongs, right in your own pocket.

Growing up, I was the worst negotiator in the world.  Someone could offer me something at N20 and I would end up paying N25.  My mum stopped sending me to buy things 🙂 .

However, as I grew up, I started to take control of my own money and how much I allowed to leave my wallet.  There is nothing like sweating blood and tears to earn the money that will make you do anything to keep it 😀 .

So here are a few tips to use to negotiate anything.  Remember, EVERYTHING is negotiable. Sometimes, you just need to remember to ask.

Five tips on How to Negotiate.

How to Negotiate Tip 1 – Have a plan

One main reason that I fail to negotiate is because I have not planned ahead for the conversation.  Usually, I am in a hurry, speaking on my hands-free kit while driving (see how I fit that in there so there is no doubt that I am always driving safely!), feeling harried in some way when I forget to ask for a reduction in price or better terms.

Now for most of you, this will not be an issue at all as you are probably born negotiators.  However, for people like me, who are only recently becoming powerful at it, there is the tendency to revert to type.

So, my advise to you and to myself, is to take the time to decide what you need out of the conversation.  How much you are prepared to pay, at what point you will walk away if it is not going to plan, what sides of yourself you will reveal to get the best result, what questions you need to ask to ensure you are getting what you think and more.

How to Negotiate Tip 2 – Suck in your breath

This tip alone will save you a whole load of money.  This is what I mean: –

You walk into a shop, or call someone on the phone, whatever, You ask for a product and how much it is.  They say £20.  Immediately, your eyebrows lift in surprise and you suck in your breath (Definitely do this loudly if on the phone), you act surprised that it is so expensive.  OK, you may have been planning to pay £30 for it but that is irrelevant.

Doing this immediately sets the expectation in the other person’s mind that you will not be paying what they are asking.  They start to lower their expectation and try to figure out how low they will have to go.  This, of course, does not work for everyone.  Some already know the game so they just smile and wait for you to regain composure.

How to Negotiate Tip 3 – Do not be the first to show your hand

Where possible, do not be the first person to mention a number.  You really want the other person to tell you something about their expectation.

Going back to the example above, supposing you had gone into the shop and stated the fact that you would pay £25 and no more than that, before the sales person had stated their price of £20.  Just like that, you would have lost £5 and you may never have known about it.

The only indication may well have been the gleaming smile on the face of the salesperson as he took the money away from you and that horrible feeling you get in your chest when you think you may have been taken for a ride.This leads me to the next tip…

How to Negotiate Tip 4 – Do not bargain with yourself

This one can be too easy to do, if you are not aware of it.You are in talks with a colleague/salesperson about a certain item or service and you have mentioned your opening number.  They go silent or even keep telling you why you should pay more for it and then they ask you for another number and you offer them a higher number.

Do not do it.

Notice that your opponent has not actually given you a number to consider, he just gave you a story and you talked yourself into a higher number or concession.  You have just bargained with yourself.  Next time, stay quiet until they give you their opposing bid.

How to Negotiate Tip 5 – Always get something

Sometimes, you will just not be able to get a concession in price, in which case what else can you get that may be of value to you.  Are there some terms in the agreement that you can tweak to suit you better.  They get the money they want but you get better terms.

Figure out what is important to them and see if you can give it to them in return for something of more importance to you (You will of course know this from the planning stage).  For instance, get a better quality of window for the same price as the set you were offered first.

Never give away anything for free, try to get something in return.

 

OK, so those are five tips on better negotiating.  What other tips are you aware of?  I am always looking for new ways to negotiate so please do share them in the comments below.

Thanks for reading and being a part of this!