Remember back when you were a kid? You wanted
that new toy from the toy store, to eat that piece of
candy before dinner and feel like a grown up by
staying up past your bedtime. And how where
you able to accomplish all this? You negotiated
with your parents. You mastered the art of negotiation
during childhood.
In the majority of countries around the world, it is
a common business practice to negotiate. Even the
hot noodle lunch from the local street vendor
is negotiable. It depends on how hungry someone
is and how far down they want to negotiate the price.
In the United States, people rarely negotiate when
it comes time to buy goods and services. Everyone has
ingrained negotiation skills, but when it comes to
their money, the skills are dormant. Most people
don’t bother and pass up hundreds of opportunities
to save money on purchases.
Sad but true facts:
• People have a habit of paying the retail price
• People have a habit of paying add-on fees
• People will even pay above the asking price,
thinking they were the lucky one!
Remember the Cabbage Patch Kid fad and hot
real estate markets? Even car dealerships try to
put a markup above the MSRP: Manufacturing
Suggested Retail Price, when they have a new
car in demand. When you continually pay full price,
succumb to their extra fees and bow to markups,
you’re giving away your power by living on
their terms; not yours.
Why are people apprehensive in negotiating
with money? Some fear losing in the deal, they
don’t want to come across as greedy, believe it’s
not going to make a difference anyway or they
think that negotiation is not always possible.
None of these reasons are true if you look at
it differently. Look at the negative in a different
light and you get a more empowering picture:
Fear of losing – You haven’t received anything yet.
If you continue paying for everything at the
suggested retail price, you are the one losing
more of your own money.
Don’t want to come across as greedy – Did you
ever consider that maybe the other side was
the greedy one? Charging you add-on fees,
inflated service charges and huge markups
above wholesale. They’re the greedy ones, not you.
It is not going to make a difference – Sure it’s
going to make a difference. It will make a difference
in your bank account with less money in it.
Negotiation is not always possible. – Develop the
mindset that negotiation is possible and you will
start to seek out those opportunities to get a better
deal — and keep more money for yourself.
When you were a kid you were not hesitant
to negotiate, so why should you be now? If your
dream is to have more money in your life, it’s time
to rev up those skills you developed at a younger age.
With all the money you save by negotiating, invest
into income producing investments where
money works for you.
So use those skills you mastered in the art of
negotiation in childhood. Start to have money
on your terms instead of everyone else’s.
You will be surprised at how much more
money is in your bank account as a result.