Skip to main content

Negotiate the impossible


A couple of months ago I wanted to buy a loft bed for my daughter. The one where you sleep on the top and have space to play underneath. I promised that I would get her one for her birthday.

I went to a few shops and found the one I wanted in a store that was re-decorating their floor stock and changing the layout of the shop. The loft bed that I wanted was surrounded by sofas and coffee tables; it looked a bit out of place where it was. The loft bed was reduced, indicating that they wanted to get rid of it. I went to a staff member and said that I would like to buy the bed but for half of the advertised price. He said that he couldn’t go that low, which indicated that he was willing to negotiate. I said to the person that I will go and do some shopping in the centre and that I will be back in an hour. I left it at that.

I went back an hour later and asked him what he thought of my offer. He said that if I take the bed by tomorrow, I can have it for 50% less. I said that that was possible, but they would need to dismantle the bed for me to pick it up tomorrow.
They did that and I got a brand-new bed for my daughter for a fraction of the original price.

The key lessons here are

1-     Look at the situation through the lenses of the other party – they needed to get rid of the bed and I did them a favour by taking it immediately
2-     Make an extreme offer – they can only say no or make a counteroffer
3-     Never be afraid to ask


www.octalonegotiation.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The most common negotiation mistakes people make and how to avoid them

Negotiation is uncomfortable, it put us under pressure, and it is something most of us want to get over and done with as soon as possible. A negotiator who is not trained well is not able to think clearly under pressure and might make mistakes such as talking too much and sharing information that should have not been shared. Here are the 5 most common negotiation mistakes that people make; it is important to be aware of these and think of strategies overcome these mistakes and become a better negotiator. 1                 Being unprepared We are all time poor and rush to get things done. It is therefore even more important to set priorities and make time to prepare. When preparing you uncover important information and gain control and power. It is vital to understand what is important to the other party, how they will approach the negotiation and how they might react to your demands and proposals. It...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is Black Friday and why it is not worth it if you are a great negotiator.

All last week was hyped up by ‘Black Friday’ Sales. But what is it and why do we have it in Australia and is it worth it? Black Friday originates from the US and is the Friday after Thanksgiving which is the fourth Friday in November. Thanksgiving is a public holiday in the US. In the 1950s people used the Friday as a sick day and went shopping to get a head start in their Christmas shopping. Eventually in the 1960s this day turned into another paid leave day or shall we say into a paid ‘shopping day’. It has become a made-up event to drive consumerism. Many believe the term ‘Black Friday’ is used for profit making; black numbers in the ledger books; but that is not entirely correct. While this is the meaning today it meant something totally different in the 50s and 60s.  According to Bonnie Taylor Blake, a researcher at the University of North California, the term originated in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia police as they saw the day as a terrible day. The city was...
2 comments
Read more

Why skilled negotiators use odd numbers – and how you get the best price when you sell your house!

When talking numbers in a negotiation it is a good strategy to use odd numbers for many reasons. Firstly, an odd number signals the other party that you have thought long about your proposal and made many precise calculations. Secondly because it looks like that it took some effort to come up with this odd but precise number people tend to believe more this number is true. A round number on the other hand gives the impression that you are just giving a ballpark figure and that there might be still a lot of room to move. Thirdly, an odd number is less likely to be negotiated down due to it being perceived as being a true value with hardly any bargaining range. Two marketing professors from the University of Florida, Chris Janiszewski and Dan Uy looked at five years of data of real estate sales in Alacha County, Florida. They compared the list prices and the actual sales prices of the properties sold during that time.  They found that those who listed their hom...
Post a Comment
Read more