Money Tips Daily – Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate!

Welcome to Money Tips Daily

We’ve talked about saving money, generating more money, but how would you like to know how to save hundreds or even thousands of pounds or dollars just by saying a few words?

Negotiate! That’s right, use negotiation in your everyday dealings.

The old saying that “everything is negotiable” may not always work down at your local supermarket (but it can believe me), but the principle is timeless. People have been negotiating since the beginning of time and it’s in our DNA to get a better deal, right? 

This is not about haggling, banging your fist on the table or becoming a union leader grinding out pay deals, which they do very well! This is about asking for a better deal, price or an upgrade.

I get better deals and upgrades all the time, usually just by asking. On a recent holiday in the Philippines, I asked for an upgrade to a better room, and got it, along with use of the club lounge (free drinks and food) on the top floor with fabulous views of the Manila skyline. I got a further £100 off the final bill when I discovered and filmed a rat in the rooftop garden!

Now, you may think I was a real pain in the ass, but actually I was very friendly with the staff and manager and not at all demanding like some western tourists can be in Asia. I praised them for their good service, which was true, had fun and used a bit of humour. I’d have a laugh with the staff after it had been dealt with by asking “where’s the rat today?”.  

  

You may be shy to negotiate at first, after all, it’s not very British to ask for a discount, but try some of these useful phrases, combined with a friendly smile, whenever someone gives you a price for a service:

“How much!!!???”,

“Is that your best price/offer/...”,

“That seems a little high...can you offer any discount?”,

“I love this hotel/airline...Do you have any upgrades available?”

Then wait for them to answer. In most cases, you will get 10% or 20% off the price on the spot or an upgrade or some sort of free bonus offer.

Just last month I had to change the battery on my car at a local garage, part of one of the biggest national chains in the country. I use them for tyres, so I’m a regular customer.

The manager quoted me £140 for the battery, “fitted with a 3 year warranty”. I replied with a smile, “thanks, can you offer me any discount?”. His exact words were, “Of course” and he then knocked £40 off the price on the spot – I was expecting 10% and would have taken it as the battery was already competitively priced. I drove out of there ten minutes later smiling after paying £100, that’s a discount of almost 30% for using a 7 word phrase, or almost £6 a word!

I don’t go around haggling over the price of a cup of coffee at my local Starbucks, but even they have special offers and deals if you ask.

I could give you hundreds of examples of how I obtained many thousands of pounds in discounts from small items to large property deals. I even managed to obtain a 10% discount, by using the same phrase, from my book editor (Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness will be published soon) who is probably reading this now! Learn from it!

Bonus Tips...Keep it friendly, build rapport and never be a jerk.

The best negotiators are charming and almost irresistible. One of the greatest negotiators I’ve ever seen in action, my friend John, almost did it for fun. Both parties enjoyed the process as he’d say things like “come on Len, you know you can do better than that!”. Len, our furniture supplier would sigh and say, “Ok John, I’ll do it for x”.

There are also hundreds of good books on advanced negotiation techniques. Read one.

You can also negotiate online or via email or SMS. 

That’s all for now, more Money Tips tomorrow.