Life is Negotiable

In workouts it is not only the clients who learn.  No one person knows everything and even something you have done one million times before can lead you to learning some new tactic or facet of that action.

I have learned many things since coming to work for Second Wind Consultants both internal and external.

The one thing that I learned the earliest and the fact that is most often represented in workout, is that life is negotiable.  There is nothing in life that is not negotiable.  You personally may not have any tools to negotiate with or some other factor may make you accept another’s terms, but there is nothing in life that is “set in stone” so to speak.

So my advice to anyone who may read this is negotiate!  do it whenever you can.

Take this example.  My Co-worker needed a truck to move some furniture from the Cape to his house in Northampton, MA.  He was initially quoted a ridiculous price of $375.00 by Penske trucks.  Greg and I worked out a strategy and he called back after doing some research and let them know that Budget was offering a lower rate.  When Penske beat that price, Greg then called a U-Haul and played the same game.  He called Penske back and made them beat the price yet again.  When the plan finally ended Greg had a truck for $129.00 with free furniture pads.

If I had simply called Penske and told them I wanted a lower price I may have gotten a small discount, but Second Wind does not use usual methods.  This is the way we aid our clients, by creating solutions that are abnormal and unbelievable, but even had I simply called and talked to Penske about my financial needs and told them I wanted to use their service and the truck was too expensive I would still get a discount.

NEGOTIATE!  I cannot say the word enough.  Ask people to lower goods, if they say no, ask why not.  Give them reasons to want to help you.  Pity may work, but being interested in your business works better.  Let them know what you like about the company and why you would prefer the service they offer if only the price would match, or maybe it is an extra service you are looking for, whatever the goal, be interested in them and negotiate.  They will concede if you find the right tool.

This may not have been a workout, but I would say paying 25% is always a victory.  What victories can you accomplish every day?  How much money would you save per year if you simply tried to negotiate everything?