Dr. Phil recently did a show on How to Negotiate Anything. He spoke to a couple about negotiating foot ball viewing. She worked with a moms and daughters on curfew and college choice issues. He helped a couple negotiate organ an donation agreement. All of that was well and good, but what interested me most was how to save money with negotiation.
Dr. Phil had a salesperson and prospective car buyers on the show. The salesperson was one who built his clientele from repeat business, so he was comfortable telling a few secrets on negotiating on a car.
Rule number 1 is don’t get too excited over a car. This signals to the salesperson that you love the car and they can stand firm on the price.
Rule number 2 is get educated on the best price for the car you want. Then don’t be afraid to ask for that best price. The worst they can say is “no”.
Rule number 3 is don’t forget to ask for extras like and XM radio with a subscription, loJack, and free oil changes from the dealership.
Another shopping expert on the Dr. Phil show said that while women don’t like to bargain, they have a special advantage. She said women should “use what they’ve got.” (No, not that.) She said women know how to sense when someone is happy or sad, show empathy, and make people feel good. We should use those skills to get discounts. All you need to do to strike a deal is:
*Know what the item is worth
*Be positive, expecting to get your way
*Be persistent and ask for a manager if a lower level salesperson won’t budge.
The final tips they left us with are that you should always as for a discount on damaged merchandise, ask stores to honor expired coupons, and always ask for travel upgrades from the plane to the rental cars.
~Andrea Hermitt writes for parenting (specifically teens), the home blog, and also the frugal blog, and homeschooling at families.com.
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