Chapter 10 – Negotiation Know How!

“To get to the Promised Land, you must negotiate through the wilderness.”

69. To Get Rich, Use the Twitch!

Let’s eavesdrop on a conversation between a customer and a salesperson:

How does Charlie react? Happy? Excited? Impressed with his negotiating savvy? Hardly!

Instead, Charlie is probably muttering, “What a dummy! Did I get ripped off? Something must be wrong! I’m buying a lemon! I knew I couldn’t trust this place—it must be stolen merchandise! I could of bought the thing for six grand, maybe even less!”

Charlie feels devastated because his first offer was accepted too willingly. Now, what if Charlie and the salesperson negotiated, made value concessions to one another and the final investment was $8,000? As strange as it seems, Charlie is likely to leave more satisfied than if he had spent only the $6,500.

Here’s the crucial point to remember: Business development is a reflection of perceived value not actual value. Once again, you should always deliver more in perceived value than you take in actual cash value!

It’s twitch time.

Now, let me share with you a strategy that has helped clients get rich, it’s called the twitch. The twitch is an exclamation, look of surprise or physical movement that conveys your disbelief with the other person’s initial offer. Meaning, you don’t jump at or immediately accept the offer.

Here’s a twitch example: I was strolling the streets at a sidewalk sale when I discovered audio-tape cassette cabinets for only $18, about half of what I normally pay. (I still have lots of cassettes from years of attending conferences and conventions.) I’d have willingly paid $18, since this was a considerable savings, but I knew this was a great opportunity to twitch.

I asked the salesperson (even though I saw the sign indicating Prices as Marked, “How much are the cabinets?” He said, “$18.” I then exclaimed with disbelief in my voice, “$18?!” His response: “Okay, $15!” Now what did my exclamation mean? Who knows? But he believed it meant that I thought $18 was too much, so he lowered the price to make the sale.

Here’s a warning though: Be prepared for the customer who might twitch you! Don’t give in to your instinct, to give in! Instead, stop and recognize the twitch and begin questioning the twitcher about his twitch. You might say;

• “When you said that or looked surprised, what were you thinking?”
• “Why do you feel that way?”
• “What’s important to you?”
• “In order to get that, what do you want to do without?”
• “Well that might be possible, but what would you be willing to sacrifice?”
• “You’ve already negotiated an incredible deal on those points, now this one’s really not that important to you, is it?”

Never lose sight of the fact, that for the twitch to be effective, it must not be presented in an obnoxious or condescending way. Its purpose is to quickly and accurately convey the message to your prospect or customer that his suggestion or offer is not possible, but let’s see what other alternatives might be. Your ultimate goal is agreement, not antagonism!

© Blackman & Associates, LLC

Focus 77: Confess, You Love The Yes! →

Jeff is a Hall of Fame speaker, best selling author, success coach, broadcaster and lawyer. His clients call him a “business-growth specialist.” If you hire speakers, please contact Sheryl Kantor at: 847.998.0688 or [email protected]. And visit jeffblackman.com to learn more about his other business-growth tools and to subscribe to Jeff’s FREE e-letter, The Results Report. Jeff’s books include; Stop Whining! Start Selling!, (an Amazon Bestseller), and the new, revised 5th edition of the bestselling Peak Your Profits. You can also stay connected with Jeff via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter: @BlackmanResults