I had an epiphany recently that the main reason we lose negotiations is because we only negotiate for things a few times in our life (salaries, cars, homes) while the people on the other end do it every day as part of their job. So I figured this time around in my job search, to prepare to talk to recruiters and get higher salaries, I would go to car dealers and practice negotiating. The main skill to practice is saying “no” in a high pressure environment. It’s tough but possible if you’re determined. I decided on a price I wanted to pay for a new car and negotiated with dealers until I got it. It was hard, but I got a $7k discount on a sweet car with many extras included. Then, with that practice, I got better at negotiating. I used those skills and the practice at saying no to negotiate a $20k higher salary than I thought I deserved. If you think about it, putting those numbers together, I kinda got a free car for my practice efforts using car negotiations to prepare for a more meaningful negotiation. Depending on the car and the salary, the entire process could be free ;). Previously I used to always crack when recruiters asked me my current salary, desired salary, etc. This time I held firm. So there you go. Practice makes perfect, I guess.
$20k? More like a free set of rims. What pile of trash are you driving
I’m not an engineer. If I was, the salary bump from the negotiations skills would probably be a lot higher.
There’s an offense and a defense in any interaction. You drive the situation, you win. Sometimes you can’t drive it.
It'd addicting, just fyi lol
Happy for you! You have to start somewhere and you did it in the best path possible. Blind is a bit tilted so you might not get all of the props you deserve. The opposite way to do that is to have a job in sales. People really underestimate the difficulty of being successful in that role and it involves a lot of understanding people and negotiation skills. You’re lucky you bought from a “normal” dealer and not one of the mega “one price no negotiations” bs dealers that are becoming too common. If you encounter one of those your next challenge will not only be overcoming your fear of standing up for your price but quantifying it with local market data (comps) to get them to come down. Enjoy your new (used) car!
Encountered one of those. Just didn’t buy from them. More practice saying no 😄
Plot twist, OP is actually a car dealer trying to increase sales. 😆
Its not unconvetional, thats how you learn negotiation !! my best practice is with indian gold markets, us car dealers !!
Very cool!