Kevin

When we buy something, we always want the best price. But how do you negotiate that price?

Bart, a question for you.

Bart

Yes.

Very often, people fall into the biggest trap you can encounter when it comes to price negotiations. In the original literature—Harvard University, for example, has a very specific school of thought on negotiation—and in Anglo-Saxon literature, this is often referred to as ‘positional bargaining.’ It’s a bit like horse-trading. Haggling. Like: that’s your position, that’s mine.

So imagine: you want to sell your car second-hand. You would like to get seven thousand euros for it. You state that: I would like seven thousand euros for it. And I say: no, I want to pay a maximum of five thousand for your car. As a result, we have both immediately taken a position. Your position is seven thousand, mine is five. Then there is actually no other option than to end up somewhere between the two. And then it might be, for example, if you take a compromise, a lose-lose solution. You lose and I lose. Six thousand, splitting the difference. You have half, I have half.

In that way, of course, you quickly start thinking in a one-dimensional model. There are many things that, when it comes to price, are much more interesting than just the price at first glance. And that means you actually have to look at what lies beneath that price. Maybe I need that car incredibly badly. And maybe you want it off your driveway very quickly. Because you don’t want to get a fine if there’s a ‘For Sale’ sign on it. Because you feel it doesn’t fit the neighborhood where you live, or whatever. Because you don’t want to attract people who ring the doorbell at incredibly inconvenient hours, asking: how much is that car and can we negotiate now?

So perhaps there is a completely different parameter, a completely different—how shall I put it—price driver underneath that is important. Maybe profit margin is much more important to you, and so on.

So in that way, before you just state a price, it becomes a matter of looking at what lies beneath. What, in this entire sale, is important to you? What is important to me?

Maybe you want immediate payment and cash on the table? That’s possible.

I could, of course, say: no, I can’t do that, because I have to go to the bank first, and for an amount like that, I have to go to a larger branch, and that won’t be possible until Tuesday at the earliest. Just as an example.

And if you naturally want it gone quickly and want immediate payment, well, then there might be a concession. That I might pay a smaller amount, and so on.

So then we look at what lies beneath the price; what appears to be the value at first glance actually contains many other value factors.

And that is the art: to bring those to the surface. To go a bit further than what is immediately said.

Kevin

And then you use those as bargaining chips.

Bart

Yes, you look at how important that is to you. Maybe it’s not important to you at all that the car has been on the driveway for a long time. But for me, it’s very important that I can go to my new job starting tomorrow, which is much further from home and difficult to reach by public transport. Then I might be willing to look at that price differently. And so, in that way, we might also find other things that, if we look at the context very creatively, could bring about very different solutions.

Kevin

Such as?

Bart

Well, maybe you work in the same office complex as I do. Or in the same municipality where I work. Maybe we can carpool together, and then I might be willing to pay a bit more if I can ride with you every morning and every evening.
But that means you actually have to step away from that very narrow focus—the price, the amount—and look at what could be broader. And what is important to you in this situation and what is important to me?

I have a very nice story about that. How a certain sale…

A certain professional organization wanted to purchase a booklet, a specific legal code, to give to all five thousand of their members. Ultimately, they weren’t meeting their own objectives. So they simply asked for the best price: what is the best price for five thousand legal codes? And the interesting thing is, if you looked further into the story—dropping that narrow focus, because otherwise you get stuck immediately and might have a slightly higher price than the competitor, losing the deal—is to ask: why do you want five thousand booklets?

“Yes, we want to give them to our members.”

“Oh, okay. But haven’t they already bought them directly from the publisher?”

“Yes, probably, but they pay membership fees and we actually want to undertake a sort of PR campaign to ensure the members are satisfied. So they get something back for their money.”

“Well, then there might be other great things I can do for you.”

That’s a more business-to-business example.

Maybe I have digital content that costs me nothing in printing costs. It’s not a legal code. And I could perhaps deliver that every two weeks, making the gift you give to members seem much larger. And you pay much less for it.

And in that way, you can actually take something—even if it’s formulated by the client or prospect within a very narrow context—and open it up much wider. And then, of course, it becomes interesting again, because at that point, only your creativity limits you.

Kevin

That’s a completely different way of negotiating, isn’t it?

Bart

That’s right, we’re not very used to that, are we?

Kevin

No

Bart

Very often it’s: you want this much, I want that much.

“Oh no, I’m never going to pay that much. I’m not interested, I’m leaving.”

Or: “I want this much, let’s meet somewhere in the middle.”

But well, it depends. If you sell your house and someone offers you: “Well, I happen to be a hotel owner, you can stay with me for a few months, with all the service and luxury included, while I move in. Because your new house isn’t ready yet, but I need one immediately.” Why not?

Nothing limits us except our creativity and the other person’s openness to go along with that story.

Kevin

Bart, thank you.

Bart

My pleasure.

Kevin

And to you at home, thanks for watching.