NEGOTIATE: A New Year …let the negotiating begin! What will it be for you: childcare, salary, a new car, travel, or a new you? We begin by sharing the tools and techniques we’ve generated over a lifetime of negotiating and public speaking. We’ve had great success with our new book, Go for It…Mastering Negotiations; it has received 5-star ratings on Amazon and is a resource for many of our readers and followers. Each month, I’ll post a new blog based on the book. We’ll cover the following:
Negotiation 101: kids, cars and life
Self-Awareness: why we are different and how it affects outcomes
Optimizing Style: image matters
Stress and Negotiations: burnout, boundaries, and beliefs
Relationships: work, family, culture and more
Preparing for Negotiation: legal, sports
Strategies: real estate, academia and marriage
Influence: position and power
What If? Consensus and walking away
Getting to All-Win: what now
Closing the Deal: terms and conditions
What the Survey Says: It’s not Family Feud, it’s real life
Pick and choose what works best for you; explore how you might integrate some of these ideas into your own negotiating style. It’s a New Year…let the negotiating begin, and let it be a win-all.
It’s January, so let’s buy a car!
We have each, at one time or another, purchased an automobile. Maybe, like an informed healthcare consumer, you have searched the web, you know the value of the car you want, you have checked the apps online that share the current value — and you are prepared for the encounter with the new or used-car salesperson. 
Historically, car dealers take a bad ride — no pun intended. Let’s face it; their reputations are not stellar. The consumer often thinks that they are being taken advantage of and that they will leave — with or without the car — an unhappy camper.
You see the ‘come-on’ ad in the newspaper or on TV; of course, the car offered at that fantastic price is the basic model. If you want heated seats, navigation, parking assistance and more — you will pay more for the ‘options.’ Yes, it does seem as if everything and anything is a possible option. The model that you saw on the showroom floor is loaded with options, and the car that you take for a test drive may also be loaded with options. You level with the salesman, sharing what you must have, as well as what you would like to have, and he or she offers a price. Of course, the price is much more than you intended to spend, even though you initially shared a budget.
You strategically change your list; perhaps those must-haves are not as essential after all, and perhaps you can settle. Again, you are offered a price, and again, the sales person will discuss it with the financial manager to ensure that the price is ‘final’ and the ‘best that they can do.’ After all, they are barely making a penny on the sale!
You are not the new kid on the block. You have been buying cars since before Joe Salesman was born. You have been around the block, and more importantly, you are not afraid to walk away from the offer and the deal. 
What did the salesman fail to do?
- Listen
- Communicate
- Be honest
- Trust
- Respect
- Understand
- Affirm
The salesman made multiple mistakes, beginning with a misunderstanding of basic negotiations.
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