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September 04, 2018

Five Useful Negotiation Strategies For Everyday Purchases



Negotiation is not a dispute but a communication process in which multiple parties attempt to solve problems in an amicable dialogue.

Negotiating is all about communication, and it occurs in both macro and micro scales. Therefore it can occur in our daily activities whether at the office, retail store or at home.

Business people understand the power of effective negotiation. People in business know that the goal of negotiation is so both parties can get to a win-win situation, not one lose and the other win.  Because If a successful agreement is reached, it can result in a long-lasting partnership between the seller and the buyer.



A lot of people like you and me desire to be good negotiators. Therefore if you are looking to become a better negotiator, the following tips are bound to help out.

1. Listen more than you talk.

Poor listening causes major communication problems. Listening is a skill some negotiators do not have. People tend to think that a good negotiator is persuasive if they talk a lot. But this entirely wrong.

Going for negotiation can be a little nerve wrecking. This means you might really want to speak out what you are feeling and be inconsiderate to the other party.

The goal of negotiation is to strike a deal with the other party. So, you have to listen to them at all times. You should always be keen to understand the other party's objectives.

A good negotiator will pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues. When you listen to each other, you are bound to reach a common ground.

2. Find the best perspective in which you can frame your negotiation.

Framing is a technique that can be used to get to successful win-win situation. Framing involves focusing on one aspect of an issue and forgetting all other issues.

For instance, buyers tend to think that price is the only thing that can be negotiated. Therefore they frame their negotiation on only the price. However, a seller may decide to switch the focus of the item to other aspects.  Like the time frame that the job will be done in, the materials used, etc.

This can increase the price without seeming to really raise the price.  As the buyer can start to see that those other aspects are just as important as a lower total price.

3. Understand that you can negotiate anything

 Everyone should be aware that almost everything and anything is negotiable. You can negotiate your career, pay and even working hours. Learning to negotiate effectively can be the key to your success.

The following are some key tenets that are bound to let you negotiate almost anything. You can even negotiate new car prices to much lower levels, which I had no idea you could do till I saw this site https://www.car-buying-strategies.com/.

  • Get background information about what you are about to negotiate.
  • Be confident.
  • Have a goal.
  • Have a plan.
  • Practice your negotiation skills.

4.  Don't make the first offer

One of the biggest rules about negotiating is never to make the first offer whether you are a buyer or seller, employer or employee. This is because the other party might make a better deal than what you initially offered.

If you are buying, wait for the seller to give you a counter offer. It will be presumably lower than what you offered. This is a way in which you can force the seller to be flexible in their prices.

However, if you wish to make the first attempt then you should observe the following key points:

  • Don't make your offer too generous so that you can have room to manoeuvre.
  • People think they can establish dominance by making an extreme first offer.  But this can be a turn-off, and the other party might walk away.
  • Make an offer that is close to what you think the other party can counter offer.

5. Buy in bulk

Sellers are often impressed by buyers who can buy a large amounts of items. So you can use this as another method that can help you as the buyer negotiate and trigger flexibility within the seller.

In many retail stores, some items are not usually up for negotiation. However, if a buyer decides to purchase goods in bulk high chances is that they are more willing to negotiate.

If you are interested in something like this you might say, “I wish to buy 100 of these items.  What sort of deal could you give me for that?”



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