Putting It All into Practice

Episode #10 of the course Negotiation skills by Chris Croft

Welcome to our last lesson together!

You probably already have some thoughts about when you should have negotiated in the past and when you can next negotiate, and I would urge you to go and buy something in the next few days just to try these ideas out—you’ll be amazed at how well they work.

But here are a few final thoughts about when you could negotiate

• When you would normally say no to something or a very reluctant “yes,” next time, try negotiating instead. For example, if there’s a training course I don’t want to do, I don’t say no any more. I just quote a higher price, and if they are prepared to pay that price, then great, it’s worth it and we do it.

• If you have a complaint, then you should definitely think about negotiating. Most people just say nothing and go elsewhere next time or they write a letter of complaint either to the company or to TripAdvisor, but why not complain and negotiate: “If you gave me a free coupon for a future stay, then I’d be happy to give you another chance,” or, “If you gave me a free bottle of wine at dinner, then I’d be able to forget the hassle with my booking.” You are in a strong negotiating position if you have a legitimate complaint.

• If it’s cheaper somewhere else, then don’t tell them—just try negotiating. It’s the easiest way to practice ,since you have a great backup plan already there. You shouldn’t tell them because a) it’s too easy, so you don’t get the practice—you won’t always have that back up plan—and b) you’ll never get them to be CHEAPER than the other place if you tell them about the other place.

• If it’s more expensive somewhere else—I know this seems odd, but before you buy it, go back to the more expensive place and have a haggle—as above, you’ve got nothing to lose, it’s good practice, you’ve got all the power because of your plan B, and you just might get it even cheaper than the cheap place.

• If it’s not ideal, maybe you hadn’t planned to get it quite yet, or the specification isn’t quite perfect, you could decide you’ll only get it if you get a really great bargain, and then give it a go. Walking away won’t be a problem, so you have all the power.

• If you are NOT going to buy it, if you just got dragged into a sales situation by a pushy salesperson, then why not toy with them and have a haggle? It’s all good practice. Pretend to be interested, and see how far you can push them. And at the end, just before you buy it, you can bail out with, “Thanks, that really is a great deal you’re offering me there, but I do need to check it with my partner,” and walk away!

And finally, with all of these tactics and techniques, if you tend to negotiate at work but not in your personal life, then DO transfer the skills to your personal life and save some of your own money. And if you tend to negotiate for your own money but not at work, then DO transfer the skills to work, where the sums to be saved could be massive.

That’s the end of my negotiation course, I hope you’ve enjoyed it and learned a lot. Keep these emails, and refer back to them whenever you need to. I’ll hope to see you again soon with one of my other courses.

Enjoy the quiz!

Chris Croft

Recommended book

Negotiation: Buy more cheaply, and get better prices when you sell by Chris Croft