You’ve probably had a client ask, “Can you do any better on the price?” or “Can you get the order here ASAP?” It happens all the time — clients asking for just a little more without wanting to pay for it. In those situations, your response can mean the difference between protecting your margins and giving away value.
The good news is that negotiation is a skill you can build. Even if you’re new to negotiating or don’t consider yourself a natural, you can learn to handle these discussions with confidence. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share a post from ThoughtLEADERS, LLC that covers some proven negotiation tactics, when to use them and when they might backfire.
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The Invisible Man. According to the post, this technique works well when you’re in the heat of a deal and you don’t want to give an answer right now. It also works when you don’t like the position that the other party is taking. You just say, “Well, I have to check with my colleagues before I can give you an answer.” That other party isn’t in the room, so you’ve pushed back the negotiation. You’ve bought yourself some time and created an invisible authority that the other party has to negotiate against.
The Bogey. With this technique, the post says you should act like something you don’t care about at all is really important to you. As you go through the deal, fight hard for that one point. Then you can trade it away later like you’re making a major concession and it doesn’t really cost you anything.
The Nibble. This approach, according to the post, is best at the end of the deal. Right before you get a deal done, ask for something extra. It’s not going to be big enough to break the deal, but it could potentially upset the prospect.
Highball or Lowball. What you call it depends on the position. For example, you could start
ridiculously high or ridiculously low to cause the other party to really reevaluate their opening price. There’s risk in this one, the post points out. It could backfire and end the deal immediately.
Future Value. This technique involves promising more value tomorrow in exchange for concessions today. The post says you could phrase it like this: “I’ll give you the concessions when that future business comes in.”
You don’t have to be a born negotiator to become a good one. Try the techniques and you’ll be better prepared the next time a client asks for “just one more favor.”
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: A blog post from ThoughtLEADERS, LLC.
