Six ways to negotiate a better deal

There are few things better than a good haggle where you end with a good deal that brings out a broad gorilla sized smile. To help you get to that smile, here are six tips and tricks you can use:

         1. Silence

Keeping your mouth shut can actually be one of the best things you could do. Seriously. Most people are uncomfortable dealing with a silence that lasts over three to five seconds and end up offering to do a little more for you or divulging extra information. Next time you negotiate, try strategic pauses of three to five seconds and see how it goes. It’ll generally go down well.

2.  Don’t ask why; ask how

Chris Voss (former FBI hostage negotiator) in his fabulous book “Never Split the Difference” talks about asking calibrated questions. People don’t like to justify themselves which makes ‘why’ a bad form of questioning in most cases. Stick with how. Replace “Why should I do this? with “How will I be able to do this?”

3. Smile

Yes, I highly recommend smiling as a negotiating technique. Irrespective of the amazing research and facts that you have, people don’t like to make a deal with jerks. First step in not being a jerk is to wear a warm smile. And also, avoid being a jerk. That's a double thumbs up from Your Sustainable Accountant.

4. Make the first offer

This one is tricky. 

When you know the approximate value that you are after, such as in a salary negotiation, it is better to make the opening offer. You can use the anchoring effect in your favour and the final deal generally gravitates to the initial offer that you made.

It's a bit counter-intuitive but works more often than you'd think.

5. Don't give gifts

That sounds like the perfect advice to become a terrible human being. However, in a business deal you shouldn’t be giving large discounts or other benefits without adequate consideration. 

This is because yesterday’s gifts become tomorrow’s starting point. The client will only expect more of the same next time.

6. Don’t be afraid to ask

Almost always, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Ask for an extra $5,000 in salary or some extra fries. 

Just ask. 

You’ll be surprised to see that so many people are willing to give just because you asked.

PS - It's ask, not to be confused with its cousin demand.