She looked from the register, met my eyes, and gave a
little laugh.
“I’ll have to ask my manager, Kathy,” she said and
turned to the woman who’d been standing next to her.
Kathy, who’d heard the whole exchange, said, “The best
I can do is ten percent.”
Humanize yourself. Use your name to introduce
yourself. Say it in a fun, friendly way. Let them enjoy the
interaction, too. And get your own special price.
HOW TO GET YOUR COUNTERPARTS TO BID
AGAINST THEMSELVES
Like you saw Aaron and Julie do with their kidnappers, the
best way to get your counterparts to lower their demands is
to say “No” using “How” questions. These indirect ways of
saying “No” won’t shut down your counterpart the way a
blunt, pride-piercing “No” would. In fact, these responses
will sound so much like counterbids that your counterparts
will often keep bidding against themselves.
We’ve found that you can usually express “No” four
times before actually saying the word.
The first step in the “No” series is the old standby:
“How am I supposed to do that?”
You have to deliver it in a deferential way, so it becomes
a request for help. Properly delivered, it invites the other
side to participate in your dilemma and solve it with a better
offer.
After that, some version of “Your offer is very generous,