One of the best negotiation strategies you have when negotiating over the price of something is to get up and prepare to leave while saying, “Thanks for everything, but I’m not interested in the terms of this deal.” You may also say something like, “This deal is not for me,” or “I just can’t do it at that price.” Say this with a smile, shake their hand, and wish them all the best as you prepare to leave.
Never put yourself in a position where you can’t walk away. Don’t fall in love with a product or service. If the seller knows you “must have it,” it will be much more difficult for you to negotiate the best price. If you can stay emotionally detached from your deals, you will be able to make smarter, more rational decisions.
The key is to be able to walk away on good terms. If you explode with a barrage of expletives and storm out slamming the door at the “outrageous prices,” or something similar, you will have closed off future negotiations with this seller. If you smile, wish them the best, and leave on good terms, you have not closed the door to future negotiations. Keep a positive attitude and don’t get personal. It’s just business.
I used this the last time I purchased a car. I had the absolute rock bottom lowest price sitting before me after having several changes in price and interest rate already. And in fact, I had a deal that was in my range of acceptance and that was a good deal on the car sitting in front of me. However, I wanted to try and get a bit better. I stood up, told the salesperson that I appreciated his time and what he offered, but it just wasn’t good enough for us to buy the car. I then told my wife we should leave. And we did! We shook hands, took his card, and left.
We drove down the street a ways and pulled into a parking lot where we could talk. We discussed that the price they came down to was pretty good according to the research we had done on the vehicle before that day. They also had lowered the interest rate to a rate just below the best our personal bank was offering on the same auto loans. Over all, it was a pretty good deal and we would not get much better. We waited about 30 minutes and I called the salesman from my cell phone. I told him that we really liked the vehicle, and if he could just help us out by coming down a bit more we might be able to make the deal work. He said he could come down another $500.00. (Earlier, before we walked, he told us they couldn’t come down any lower.) I told him if he would do that we would go back to the dealership and buy the car. A couple hours later we were driving our new car home.
So remember, don’t become too attached and be prepared to walk away. If you do walk, smile and walk away on good terms. Smiling and walking away just might help you get the deal you want.