I had always wanted to purchase a Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime but kept postponing due to lack of enough money until I got some cash which I intended to put into good use to get me the phone at a favorable price. With me, I had thirty dollars and according to my little research, the phone goes for twenty five dollars, meaning if am lucky I would get the phone at that selling price or even cheaper. I had to familiarize with the product since it would be a topic of negotiation. Having taken some classes on negotiation, I did not want to be a key victim of a bluff or any seller’s technique meant to bring me uncertainty and anxiety.
With whom did you negotiate?
It is important to be aware of the party one is negotiating with in order to exploit their weaknesses and maximize your strengths. In my case I happened to approach a Samsung phone agent at their open shop and who is also a family friend and a neighbor, staying blocks away from my residence. Being an agent, I knew from the word go that she is very knowledgeable with the Samsung products. That denotes that she has past experience that may possibly come in handy with expedient information.
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The Circumstance
The circumstance was an official one as I had gone to the shop. According to Pease and Alan (2013), an intelligent negotiator creates a good rapport with the seller before proceeding with the negotiation and by so doing one establishes a relationship with the seller and vice versa. Oblivious of my intentions, I approached her with a smile and asked her how she is doing with the job. Even though emotions are often an important part of negotiations, they are usually ignored. In that circumstance, I became exposed and earnest since these are the basis of effective negotiations (Pease & Alan, 2013).
One is more composed in negotiation when there is respect not solitarily as a customer or buyer but as a human being too. Having told her that I had come to buy a phone she introduced me to the varieties on display where I spotted the Galaxy J7 Prime and asked for the price. Against my expectations, she said it was on offer at twenty dollars but she would sell it at eighteen dollars.
Your thoughts while negotiating
Wise negotiators always have a price target prior to the beginning of the negotiation and at that time my target changed and offered her fifteen dollars for the phone. Saner (2015) argues that the target price should be grounded on convincing expectations putting into consideration the restraints that might indisputably come up. Bearing that in mind, I think my offer was realistic since it was only three dollars away from her first offer. During the negotiation, one can sense whether the seller’s principles lack integrity or are subpar. In this case, she smiled and paused for a while. Shell (2009) warns customers against overlooking the fact that silent pauses may be an important tool.
The results
Pease and Alan (2013) argue that giving oneself and the seller time and space to think about the price that has been offered is very important. After thinking for seconds she said I should consider eighteen dollars a loss to her and that she would only take seventeen dollars, adding that I should consider it a favor. Her price reduction was definitely still a profit to her even if she made it appear as a loss. Furthermore, seventeen dollars was way below my budget so I accepted it since I did not want to be a pain but a player. Eventually, we both found ourselves, a win-win situation.
Was your mindset the same as when you began or did you learn something from the experience?
Definitely, I had a different mindset by the end of the negotiation. First I learned that research is only an eye opener and that the information obtained may vary. For instance, according to my research, the phone was to go for twenty five dollars but found that it was being sold at twenty dollars. It is also common sense that the seller did not go at a loss of by selling it at seventeen dollars since one of the goals in a business is to get profit. Saner (2015) puts it that one of the basic principles used in all negotiations is that the first offer is generally the standard by which all succeeding offers are evaluated and compared.
References
Pease, B. & Alan T. (2013). Negotiation: The Definitive Book of Body Language . New York: Bantam Dell.
Saner, R. (2015). The Expert Negotiator . Amsterdam: Kluwer Law International.
Shell, G. (2009). Bargaining for Advantage . United States: Penguin.
