I received the following from Chellie Campbell’s Financial Stress Reduction® newsletter, and am reposting it here with permission.
Many people run into trouble when it comes to negotiating money. This applies to salaries, pay raises, prices of products, and fees for services.
Often fearful of asking for too much, they make the opposite mistake and ask for too little.
It’s like they study the situation very carefully, figure out the least amount they can possible ask for and still be able to eke out a living, and then ask for their rock bottom line amount. Then, when their prospective boss or client tries to negotiate a better price, they are angry and resentful.
How, they think, can this person ask for a better price—don’t they know this is an incredible deal and the cheapest price around?
Well, no, they don’t know! They are playing the negotiating game. It is a win-win scenario if it’s played correctly.
This is how to play it:
1. Seller figures out bottom line price.
2. Seller asks for amount above bottom line price.
3. Buyer asks for reduction in Seller’s price.
4. Compromise is reached in the middle.
5. Every dollar Seller got above his bottom line, he wins.
6. Every dollar Buyer gets Seller to reduce his asking price, he wins.
7. End game: Win-Win.
You can see that if the Seller goes in asking for his bottom line, he leaves the Buyer nothing to do but say “Yes” or “No.” Then somebody loses and is unhappy. To make it possible for everyone to win, the Seller must ask for more money than his bottom line.
Note: If you asks for an amount above your bottom line and the Buyer says yes immediately, you didn’t ask for enough money!
For more information, see ChellieCampbell.com