I come from a proper middle class family. My parents started their lives with education as their only asset and worked their way up.
Just like most working class families, they invested in FD’s, RD’s, Chits and took housing loans and had their struggles trying to make their ends meet. So called ‘middle class values‘ got instilled in me and while not all of them are helpful for an abundance mindset, the one I always consider is a gift is the skill to negotiate.
I learned it primarily from my father. He believes that there is no set price for any product. Even when you went to a store with a printed price, he would negotiate. Often to the extend which embarrassed the teenage me.
He had every right, he worked hard for every rupee in his pocket.
Most people do not negotiate for the same reason why they do not approach a girl they like. Fear of rejection. What if the she says ‘No’? What if the seller says ‘No’?
Well my friend, always remember – Rejection is better than regret.
Having worked on both ends of the sales game, both as a seller and a buyer, I can tell you with certainty that buyers who negotiate are just as favorite as buyers who do not. The process of convincing a buyer that the price for the product is right, is very satisfying and rewarding.
You will be surprised at the kind of deals you will get just by asking. Only the crying baby gets the milk.
- A company that I worked for had authorized all of its customer service reps to give out 30% discount coupons to anyone who ask.
- When I lived in Ohio, my ISP waived the $55 setup fee just by saying that the competitor is willing to set it up for free. All this over chat.
People who know me knows that I negotiate relentlessly. If I sense, even remotely, that there is room for a bargain, I will fight for it and won’t stop until I get it. I have a friend who takes me along when shopping for expensive things.
Granted, not everything can be negotiated. But you would be surprised at what can be.
- Would you believe that you can negotiate the rate of interest on your Fixed Deposit at a bank?
- Would you believe that you can negotiate the USD to INR forex conversion rate?
- Late fees, parking tickets, your salary? Easy peasy!
Blatantly asking for a discount is not the greatest kind of negotiation. Make your case and make an argument that is a win-win for both parties.
- Hey, this product is 20% cheaper on Amazon, I know you have over heads and I love supporting local sellers. How about we meet in the middle at a 10% discount?
- I see that you have an affiliate program that pays out 30% commission to the affiliate. I am buying direct, can you give me a 30% discount which you would have paid out if I had bought via an affiliate?
- I am a developer and I know my way around software. So I will probably never have to use your support forum. Can I get a discount on the sale price?
- If I pay in cash, can I get a 5% discount? Don’t you pay 2% to the card company if I pay with a card?
Always negotiate. You are literally putting value on your words when you negotiate.
So you say you want to learn how to negotiate? Here is a good article to get you started.
I am a WordPress product developer and creator of Image Attributes Pro. I am passionate about solving problems and travelling the world.
Title was obviously a click bait; period. The article is excellent and i just realised how bad i am in negotiating! Fear of rejection it is!
Keep writing 🙂
Negotiation, like any other skill needs observation and practice. No one is counting the number of times you were rejected, but people count your victories.
Thanks for the kind words!
I do not negotiate because I hate being negotiated with. I prefer if someone priced their service/products fairly and people who can afford it, buy it. Others can find something else. Its black or white in my mind, rarely grey!
I always did most of my purchases online and never really negotiated. The affiliate commission as a discount is an interesting idea.
Salary title is sure to lure in a lot of people 🙂 Good one!
What you described is an ideal situation and the internet is democratizing this quite a lot. Sadly the world has a lot of grey areas and unless you ask for it, you do not receive it.
Did Airtel update the billing for their post paid customers when Jio competing plans came out? Why do corporate’s give generous salary hike when they find out that an employee is going to resign and join another company? Why do new customers get better deals than repeat customers when it comes to TV, Mobile and the like?
Spent few hours on the title, something I rarely do. Gladly its paying off. Thanks!
Had fun reading – the content and comments.
The examples you gave and the questions you asked are really cool. Opens a whole new world of perspectives.
I used Ramit Sethi’s credit card script and got all my late payment fees waived off from my credit card company more than once 😀
Still its hard for me to get into your mindset and look for opportunities all the time. I just shut my mind and be a goat like all consumers. We are so used to accepting to the fact that things are not negotiable.
During a conversation, for my question, my ex-boss once had a cheeky smile and said everything is negotiable 🙂 I will never forget that lightbulb moment.
Hey Hey! look who is here!
Glad to hear from you man, even better, glad to see you again.
I think its outside of the comfort zone of a lot of people and that is good to an extend because it means when you try to negotiate they cave easily 😉
I have been asking my sister to negotiate her salary (pretty much every time I see her), but she is not even considering the idea.
You boss is right, everything is negotiable. Thanks for sharing 🙂
A very relevant read: “Most negotiations are not zero sum” – http://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/negotiating/