Don’t Say Yes Too Quickly

A general rule of thumb when negotiating is to avoid saying yes too quickly. It’s sounds easy but the reality is that this can be a difficult tactic to apply.

The challenge here is that many sales people mistakenly think that they will automatically lose the sale if they don’t agree to the request or accept the offer. However, most buyers and decision makers know that negotiating is part of the deal-making process, especially if you dealing with a Driver who loves to win.

Saying yes too quickly will cause the other person to second-guess their approach. Here’s what I mean…

Several years ago I was helping my oldest daughter buy a used car and we made an offer that I felt was reasonable and that would save her some money. When the salesman went to discuss the offer with his boss (higher authority) I said to my daughter, “Watch, he’ll come back and say something to get us to bump up our offer.” When he returned, he stuck out his hand and said, “Congratulations, you have a car.”

The immediate thought that popped into my mind was, “Something’s wrong with the car” followed by “I didn’t ask for a big enough discount!” Even though I got exactly what I asked for, I wasn’t completely satisfied with the outcome.

Make people work for every concession. Take time out to think about their request. And don’t be afraid to make a counter offer. This can help you increase your sales AND your bottom line.

Here’s a brief video clip of a keynote speech I delivered on this topic:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3c7Qn0xqmY[/youtube]