Should I negotiate?

 Before any of us enters into a negotiation, we need to decide whether or not we’re even going to negotiate. I think you should ALWAYS negotiate. Let me explain why.

 The thing is, if you don’t at least TRY to negotiate you’ll never know whether you could have got a better deal; when you’re shopping for electrical goods, clothing and especially a car.

 Just think about it. If you’re buying a car, you could save £1,000 or £2,000 or £5,000 with just a few minutes of effort and a little bit of courage.

 If you don’t even ask for a better deal, the “answer” is ALWAYS going to be no. My mantra is “shy kids get no sweets”.

 Treat negotiation as a game and remain emotionally detached.

 The worst that can happen is your counterpart (the person you’re negotiating with) will say no. That’s it. You’re not a bad person for trying to negotiate and you can always laugh it off, “well, it was worth a try”.

 Even if you’re successful once in ten attempts, you’ll still be ahead compared to if you’d never tried.

 And negotiation is about more than just price.

 Recent negotiation successes I’ve had are:

-          A free front door (£800)

-          £180 price reduction on a new broadband contract

-          Returned some items to a shop 2 months after the returns period ended

-          Extended payment terms for dental treatment

 Some people are afraid of negotiating and I summarized the common fears in this blog and this video.

 The great news is that ANYONE can learn how to negotiate. It’s a simple 5-step process and is such an important skill to learn for life, not just work.

 I can help you and your team dramatically improve their negotiation capability. Here’s a recent quote from one of my customers:

 “Thank you Martin for a great training course and awesome day. Very inspirational and perfectly pitched. We will definitely put your tips and techniques to good use in upcoming negotiations.”

Get in touch to find out how learning how to negotiate can help you.