Use these five rules or they will be used against you.
I LOVE negotiating.
Yes, I am that guy. I will negotiate just for fun.
Often, I just want to see what I can make happen.
Negotiating is like a game to me.
You never know what you can get until you try.
So try.
1. Negotiate from Strength
Begin on solid ground. No debt. Have a pile of cash.
You never want to negotiate when you are desperate.
EVER
When you work from a position of strength you will be able to make offers that are non-negotiable.
This is the most important rule.
1b. Negotiate from Strength
Pros can smell when you are hungry.
They are trained to exploit weak people.
Come into every negotiation strong. You must play it cool or your emotions will be used against you.
It’s that simple.
2. They Make the First Offer
I NEVER make the first offer.
Often sellers will be so desperate they will box themselves into a low position even before we begin.
Always let the other person begin the negotiation.
They may low-ball themselves out of the gate.
2b. THEY Make the First Offer
I won big on a brand new house this way.
I went to so many different builders I finally found one that was sufficiently hungry.
Without even working I was able to lower their asking price by over $100,000. I happened to find the right seller.
3. Use silence to your advantage
I have spoken about this before. The most underrated negotiating tactic is to remain silent.
When presented with a weak offer just sit there.
People naturally hate silence. Let them squirm.
They often flinch. That is what you want.
3b. Use silence to your advantage
I went to purchase a house in the middle of the Great Recession. I followed Rules 1 and 2. I had my cash ready. Then the builder came at me with a poor offer.
I literally sat in his office completely still.
Tension. Silence. I did nothing.
3c. Use silence to your advantage
After 30 minutes the builder picked up his paper.
He took 20% off of his initial offer.
Just like that.
I literally did nothing and saved myself tens of thousands of dollars. Pretty cool.
4. Leverage your target against other targets
Children play parents against each other.
This is the same kind of thinking. Rarely do I purchase anything without working multiple targets.
4b. Leverage your target against other targets
Be direct. Tell them you found lower prices elsewhere.
Your target will be forced to counter.
Try to get that new price in writing.
Then go back and forth ad nauseam between targets selling the same product. Exploit high supply.
5. Good cop, Bad cop.
This is mostly a counter tactic.
When facing off against a two-negotiator team, you may find that one person is reasonable and the other is tough.
This is a classic move.
Just recognize they are working together.
Do not fall for their tricks.
5b. Good cop, Bad cop.
BUT
There is a clever way for YOU to employ this strategy.
It works if you are solo.
The key is to have an imaginary BAD cop.
It works like a charm. If you are negotiating just pretend that someone else has your hands tied.
5c. Good cop, Bad cop
EX: Your wife (not there) will not let you spend 25K. You set a budget. She will kill you if you go over 25K.
Make up a story.
Act like an imaginary person is holding you back.
The beauty: The seller cannot work THAT person over.
They don’t exist. Sneaky
No comments:
Post a Comment