Podcast 101: The Art of the Negotiation

Check out the latest episode of Ask Gregory, Gregory takes a step back from the financial talk to bring you the art of negotiation!

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Gregory Ricks  00:00

Hey, welcome. I’m your host Gregory Rick’s a financial advisor here to answer your questions and help you win with your money.

Podcast Intro / Outro  00:10

On today’s episode of the Ask Gregory podcast, Gregory takes a break from the financial news to share his knowledge on the art of negotiation. We also got a complimentary download waiting for you on this topic. If you go to gregoryricks.com/podcast101. Again, that is gregoryricks.com/podcast101.

Gregory Ricks  00:31

How about this for a topic how to negotiate anything, you know, I’m always talking about money and stuff. And you know what, maybe life would be better? Yeah, I’ll tell you. Stacy used to be and that’s my wife. There was a car conversation, a few cars back that I had bought her. And we’re in an eye negotiating price. And she says, Oh, that is Solon comfortable. But let her go and be buying a set of cabinets for the office or for the house. And she’s got it worked into her Excel spreadsheet, she will wear you out. And then she’s telling you now asking for a lower price. That’s kind of uncomfortable. What do you think you’re doing with the cabinet’s and your research and letting them know? Well, this is what I think the price should be. Yeah, she’s negotiating. She’s just may be doing a little bit differently. And I’m, I’ll help you with that.

I like me some negotiating. I’ve got an article here written by Mary hunt, the founder of everyday cheapskate.com. How about that for a website, how to negotiate anything he talks about I know about the art and science of negotiating, I learned as a matter of survival. She was she’s said she had jumped deep into the real estate industry pass the state test became license, but knew nothing about negotiating was driven out of desperation to find a way to bring interested parties together to get them to agree and see that everyone walked away a winner. You know how deals get done kind of one, one real quick way is both have to feel happy about the deal, you can be at opposite sides. But for a deal. To get done, both sides have to reach a happy point.

Something for everyone she notes. The goal is not that everyone comes out an equal winner, but that everyone should walk away satisfied. Negotiating the deal that gives something of value to each party. There’s the mark of a wise negotiator. One of the rules is ask for more than you expect. Don’t start where you want to end. Because then you’re probably going to finish at a different point. So let’s say you want to make an offer considerably, considerably less than the asking price of the house, you would like the old you write the lowball offer. But in a surprise move you stipulate that the price includes laundry room appliances, pool table, dining room suite, and piano that you saw on your initial tour, the cell responds that the price of the house is acceptable, but that certainly does not include the personal property. Well, you won, you win, because you get your price. You really didn’t want the 25 year old stuff. Hey, maybe you wanted that pool table. But you got your price and the seller wins because he stood firm against what he considered to be an unreasonable request. But he was obviously at a price where he wanted for the home and you want Moulton to pay full price. See, see think about putting together a deal. That no one they’re going to alter it to get to where they want to be. Last year I bought a property and I’d been looking for a country property as a getaway place for a while. And I had this chance to meet a couple selling their home. And I had understood it been on the market for six months. And the realtor couldn’t be there with me on the tour with my wife and I, and I, I was fine with that I wanted to get to know the people, to me, it made it less awkward. If we got along good, then it’s cool.

Yeah, you don’t know what to expect. And I didn’t go in there thinking it was something, I had no idea, it would be something I would want to buy, I had no idea, I’m just going to see it. And kind of halfway through the tour, I sat down in the game room. And I said, Oh, my gosh, I’m probably going to have to buy this place. But I’d already been given a little heads up on the information, they’ve had it on the mark for six months. And they’ve had a few people, they had somebody recently tried to lowball them and didn’t get anywhere on it. So I kind of knew a little bit of information. Then I finished the rest of the tour with my wife, and it’s like my, this nice place. And at the end, I thank them. They’re very gracious, and just so much information. And what I realize is they built this place 10 years or so ago, not planning to ever sell it. And I’m thinking, okay, and this is a year ago.

So you know what I’m thinking, compared to what I do is like, oh, my gosh, with what I know is coming with the inflation coming real estate. What’s going on in the economy? Yeah, I, I have some intuition. I’m like that is not priced in here. And I shared with them, hey, wife, and I haven’t had a chance to talk. But I’ll speak for her. We really love your property. And maybe we can go talk reach back out, see if we could work this out. And he kind of signal the same thing is if you’re really interested, yeah, I think we can work it out. So we left, Stacy and I talked, we talked to the realtor told him where we wanted to be, and made an offer, of course below the selling price. But closer are probably a bit less than probably what I thought his bottom line was. So we weren’t far apart because they they asked for more than I offered, then I countered lower than that. And then one more phone call. I made an offer in the middle of that. And then they countered with something that was real small, which we were there, we were done, I’d have paid a little more. And but what I did, then I said, Well, I’m gonna wait 30 minutes to call back because this would mean, we did this deal in less than an hour. And once again, both sides are happy. I was excited because I knew what was coming. I’m gonna I’m buying future value, because of my understanding and what happened. Both parties win.

So sometimes in negotiation, I was talking about talking with Angie, which works here in my studio, and she you say our appointment setter at our firm in our day job. And she was kind of saying, you know, what I found out is, it’s just good to ask. And I said that’s the first principle of negotiating, is to simply ask, Do you have any wiggle room on that price? Do you negotiate? Are you open to taking loss? It’s just a question. And rarely will you get this I’m sorry, we’re firm on that. We don’t have any room most of the time. It’s gonna be Yeah, we’ve got we we can little do a little bit. What do you have in mind? There? My wife, Stacy. You know, we were negotiating a car deal a long time ago. And she’d like to say, Oh, that’s so awkward. I said it’s just simply a question. Is that the best you can do on price? Because here’s what I had in mind paying. You can put it out there and wait for their response. What’s the worst can happen? No, we’re firm on that. You take it or leave it. Then you’ve got a choice. Well, I’m good. I don’t need it. If that’s the way you feel both sides have to be happy. You don’t have to do it if you’re not going to be happy.

Here’s another thing, knowledge out A show that Stacy she’s like, doing a cardio. Oh, that’s so uncomfortable. But what she uses is knowledge. Never forget that knowledge is power, the more you know, the better your chances of getting what you want. The true skill comes in keeping what you know to yourself revealing only a bit at a time and doing so only when it is to your advantage. If you know the competitors pricing, you’ve done your homework. And let’s just for example, her shopping for cabinets, and she’s done this many times for various offices that we’ve opened the Mandeville office, the Baton Rouge office, the Gulfport remodeling, and expanding the Metairie office. She will negotiate you why she’s got knowledge, she’s got information and her data, what she’s basically saying I’m uncomfortable just going on the fly and negotiating just as a pure skill versus negotiating with knowledge the way I’ll define it, if she’s got the knowledge and the data, she will wear you out. The least motivated party is in control. The other party finds out that you are desperate to make a deal. You just lost control.

Anytime you can send a nonverbal cues that you are not desperate. And in fact, you’re willing to cancel. If you do not get what you want. You retain control. I recently swapped out a white Jeep I had four red Jeep I remember salesman said Boy, you know if you don’t come on by, it could be sold or want me to go over there and negotiate in person and drive the darn thing. So I know what a cheap drives like it’s rough. I told him I said you know it can be sold. I said, That’s okay. It’s fine. I think they’ll make some more. I’m in no rush. From first communication to mots I’ve like no hurry. That’s actually also a position of strength if you like we’re all Oh my god. So are people overpaying, driving up prices, like desperate if I don’t get it again, there won’t ever be a house to buy again. The least motivated party is in control. So once again, if they find out you’re desperate to make a deal, you’ve lost control. And in fact, you need to be willing to cancel if you don’t get what you want. That way you keep some control. This drives a desperate opponent crazy. No matter how anxious, you may be on the inside. Do not let it show the simple act of calmly and slowly closing. Don’t slam the notebook or briefcase. Don’t throw a tantrum. Just be patient. It’s one of the most powerful tools a negotiator has without saying a word.

You allow the other party to fear that you may not continue. Take a long pause. And I’m talking long pauses probably like nine or 10 seconds still showing the body most years. Just take your time and silence we were buying say says buying a property that we built on our house on yours back and Guy countered us with some red deer keyless offer and I just like now, that’s that’s just way off. We’re not going to be able to get there, we’re probably not going to be able to buy your book because I’ve made an offer over market. He countered some weeks later was something really big. Yeah. We weren’t going to get there. But you know what, a few months later, I acquired the property we did. Negotiating has to be and she says this here negotiating has to be one of my all time favorite activities. But I do have one tiny regret. And she said in the article. I just gave away my secrets. But being patient, asking is the start ask. But even better if you’ve got a little bit of information, knowing where you need to be if you don’t have that information. You’re just simply trying to get movement.

Sometimes it’s just the art of negotiation is kind of like can I get some of the price reduced? But you’re running any sales on the suit. About the stress you’re getting the coupons? Gonna be coupons so get 10% off. See all you’re doing is asking for movement and price Hey, this could be fun to the art of negotiating. Save yourself some money, just simply ask it’s that difficult.

Thanks so much for listening to ask Gregory where we answer your financial questions. You can find us anywhere podcasts can be found and on YouTube and Facebook Live every Saturday from 10 to one subscribe, leave a review and tune in next time.

Disclosure  15:28

We also got a complimentary download waiting for you on this topic if you go to gregoryricks.com/podcast101. Again that is gregoryricks.com/podcast101 Gregory Ricks & Associates is an independent financial services firm that utilizes a variety of investment and insurance products. Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Gregory Ricks & Associates are not affiliated companies. Gregory Ricks & Associates, The Total Wealth Authority is our trademarked tagline, it does not promise or guarantee investment results or preservation of principal nor does it represent a certain level of skill. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the issuing carrier. Please remember that converting an employer plan account to a Roth IRA is a taxable event. Increased taxable income from the Roth IRA conversion may have several consequences including (but not limited to) a need for additional tax withholding or estimated tax payments, the loss of certain tax deductions and credits, and higher taxes on Social Security benefits and higher Medicare premiums. Be sure to consult with a qualified tax advisor before making any decisions regarding your IRA.  This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the particular needs of an individual’s situation. Gregory Ricks & Associates is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Gregory Ricks & Associates. Any media logos and/or trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners and no endorsement by those owners of Gregory Ricks & Associates is stated or implied Gregory Ricks & Associates has a strategic partnership with tax professionals and attorneys who can provide tax and/or legal advice. AEWM, Gregory Ricks & Associates, WJ Blanchard Law, LLC, J Heath & Co. and Mortgage Gumbo are not affiliated companies.