Last But Not Least
Whether in desperation or by design, the final offer is one of the strongest--and trickiest--plays in deal-making.
No kidding, my very first "negotiation" took place at
a flea market in Morocco. It was for a leather jacket. Per local
custom, I grimaced, pointed out countless flaws in the garment and
feigned disinterest; the merchant whined, gesticulated wildly and
began dropping the price sharply. Each time he said, "This is
my final offer," I sauntered out of his stall. And each time,
the grizzled old man called me back, lowering his price again.
Ultimately, I got the jacket at way, way below the asking price. I
smugly thought I was a natural, until I found out the merchant
still made a 1,000 percent profit!
A speaker and attorney in Los Angeles, Marc Diener is the
author of Deal Power: 6 Foolproof Steps to Making Deals of Any
Size (Owl Books/Henry Holt). You can reach him at MarcDiener@aol.com.
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