Negotiating a Fair Price | Crafting Customers

For many businesses that provide services ? a guy that does car restorations or a Lexapro lawyer, for example ? don?t have set rates. Sometimes the nature of their work means that certain costs will be accounted for in the final charge, such as the cost of replacement parts.

However, overall, how much they get paid can very much become a matter of negotiation. The trouble is that while these people usually pick up their trade or are trained in their profession, they generally aren?t taught how to negotiate. This is something that they end up having to learn on the fly.

So without further delay, here are some fundamental negotiation tips that every businessmen needs to learn sooner or later.

Factor in any concrete costs. Maybe the service required certain fees to be paid off. Maybe parts needed to be ordered to replace things. Stuff that has a definite cost should be included in the final fees charged, since the business has to recoup those losses somehow. If nothing else, the service provider should at least get back the money it spent to get the job done.

Remember that the prices are best kept realistic. The old approach of naming outlandish figures doesn?t really work anymore, and will likely just aggravate the client instead of encouraging them to haggle until both parties get a figure they can agree on. Keep the initial cost reasonable, but always with a bit of leeway so that even if the client tries to get it reduced, the business won?t be in a position to take a loss if it agrees.

Compare and contrast. How much would a competitor ask for the same thing? If the provider knows what the rest of the field asks for certain tasks, then he?s got a good idea of what to charge. Following this ?standard? means that the business is not competing on a price level, allowing it to focus on competing with better customer relations. Remember that there?s a chance that the customer?s looked into other people?s offers already, so never discount the possibility they?ll know if someone is overcharging them.

Never give something for free; always get something in return. Sometimes, the inexperienced throw something into the field for free, to get the ball rolling. More often than not, this is actually a sign of weakness and invites the other party to ask for more free stuff. Be generous and give, but never without taking something in return.

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