If you were able to negotiate your way through business transactions, you would be able to get the best out of almost any deal. Negotiating is a process that more often than not involves 2 parties only and all you have to do is get the right rhythm on your side if you want to make the deal that gets you the right price. It does not matter if you are selling bicycles, buying a car or selling a horse, deals almost always boil down to dollars and cents. It is about what the offer is and what offer is expected, it is as simple as that – being objective and strategic is important, even if you sell gold and the prices are based on the spot gold prices, the deal would probably be about the logistic costs that might be substantial and who bears the bigger chunk of the cost, whatever it is – never let emotions get in the way and that is a principle that negotiators should never break no matter what happens!
So before you decide to go to a meeting you need to get your attitude right and get your facts straight, have a high and low value for whatever it is that you are going to negotiate on and stay the course, if at all you do not get above your ‘low value’ and nail down a suitable price, do not be too tongue tied to say, “it was a pleasure meeting you, but this time I suppose, we have to agree to disagree”. However, always take into account before you decide on your highs and low of the deal as different thing call for different criterion, for instance the same principles do not apply when you sell a car as they do when you sell gold because when you sell a car it depends on the condition age and accessories, but when you sell gold its only about the quantity and the spot gold prices.
Negotiating is basically a dance and if you know your moves, then you would not get all tangled up half way through the song. Most dealers would attempt to assert pressure on you to make decisions as quickly as possible, it is crucial that you do not break under this pressure, in fact you should use this pressure against them, the more they pressure, the higher you can push your value mark, provided you keep it within reasonable limits. Negotiating is an art that can be perfected; it is a human trait that resolves to get the better of a situation that would otherwise be hopeless. Hostage situations, bank deposits, purchases or sales, almost everything we do today involves negotiation, even the government we end of choosing are the end products of a negotiation between the people and the powers to be.
A few things that you should avoid during a negotiation is, never use the words “I will do or okay” for anything, use words that do not take you into the commitment circle, such as “I will think” or “maybe” or even “I can consider that option” this will give you the vantage point to walk away from the deal easily if it does not seem to be going your way. Another important factor is to keep your nerve and be calm, NEVER get emotional when you are or the negotiation table and everything will be fine.