Saturday, January 24, 2009

Drugstore Deals and Coupon Matching 1/25 - 1/31

Each week, I review many blogs to determine my shopping list and coupons before hitting the stores. Many of these bloggers spend hours combing the Internet and forums such as HotCouponWorld and SlickDeals to compile their lists.

Since I am all for not re-inventing the wheel, I am going to link to my favorite blogs and briefly outline my shopping plan.

Here is what I plan to purchase this week.


  • CVS - Energizer watch batteries, Gilette Shampoo and AJCs
  • Rite Aid - Garnier Fructis shampoo (FREE)
  • Walgreens - Colgate Toothpaste and Toothbrush (I need some more items for the Colgate Travel bag giveaway) and Reese's Whips (who can resist these - especially when they are FREE)

CVS

Common Sense With Money


Couponing 101

Keeping the Kingdom - CVS $5 Challenge

Savings Your Cents

Southern Savers

Surviving The Stores


The Freebie Blogger




RiteAid


Common Sense With Money


Southern Savers

The Freebie Blogger



Walgreens

Common Sense With Money

Couponing 101

Saving Your Cents

Southern Savers

Surviving The Stores

The Freebie Blogger

That's Our Policy

Scott says…

“That’s our policy!” I love this one. When negotiating with stores you’ll hear this one a lot and for most of us it stops us in our tracks. Who are we to question THEIR policy? Policy sounds a lot like law, doesn’t it. Let’s go to the library…

At the library I was found guilty of damaging a book with water. Actually the culprit was my tiny daughter who dumped her water bottle all over Curious George. The judge at the public library, who is properly called a Media Specialist, informed me that I would have to pay the replacement cost of the book at THEIR rate. I opened the cover and showed her that the actual cost of the book was several dollars lower and that since the book was used and it was my fault that I would gladly pay the book’s cover price. “Our POLICY is that you pay replacement cost!” Ok, let’s negotiate.

Librarians that I’ve met over the years are firm and fast rule keepers. Since my negotiating was giving her heartburn I decided to stroke her ego a little bit by going back to the damage at hand. I asked her was the book really damaged so badly that they couldn’t use it? I got a lengthy lecture on what happens when a book gets water damaged pages, learned about the spine of the book, about mold and mildew and many other things. I told her I was amazed at how much she knew about books! With this information I then gently challenged her as to whether or not the book was useable in its condition to which she replied that they could use it but it would take some work. When I asked her how much the work would cost she replied “we don’t have a policy for repairing books”. Ok, another dead end.

So we went back to negotiating about the cost and I decided to use another tactic, the stall tactic. I had plenty of time as my daughter was reading in the children’s book section, but the Librarian had a line forming behind me. We laboriously discussed the replacement cost. I even told her that if I was responsible for replacing it that I’d just go get them a replacement book and pay a lot less. “Our policy won’t allow that.” Rats.

Ok, by now I’m getting a little steamed, but I’m going to keep my cool. This is a $3.00 negotiation with a Librarian, but a great exercise, so I’m going to continue. The next tactic I pulled out of my bag was the “fairness” tactic. I approached her with the statement that “I am guilty of damaging the book but it is not fair to financially penalize me for the infraction more than the value of a book to replace it. You wouldn’t pay more than a book was worth, would you?” Jackpot! She looked at me with a very puzzled look. “Certainly, I would never do that.” She then agreed to accept my payment of the books cover price which saved me $2.90. We then argued about my right to take the book home since I just paid for it. I told her it was MY POLICY to take what I pay for!

Now, you are going to say that this was stupid, right? Why beat up a librarian for $2.90? There are several reasons that I did this. The first is to make it known to the library that their policy is not quite fair. The second is that I don’t like people waving policies in my face just to make their lives simple. The third is that I need the practice. You can see from the description that I used several negotiation tactics and even changed my strategy. Believe it or not, doing this with the librarian is no different than doing this with a million dollar contract, which I do daily. My policy is to practice, practice, practice and you’ll save money, too!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Time to Negotiate

What time is it? Time to negotiate! The factor of time can really influence your deal. Always be aware of your time constraints and those of the other party.

Let’s go buy a car. You really don’t need to close a deal on a new car for several weeks. The new car dealer knows that if he doesn’t close you in three days or less that statistically he/she won’t sell you a car. So what time of the week do you go to the dealer? Monday? Saturday? It will depend on the dealer but often you see the sales advertisements coming out on Friday, so Friday is often a good day.

Thus, if I go to negotiate for a new car, I’m likely to go Friday and to go very late in the day. If I know what I want, I’m going at 30 minutes before closing time. The dealer doesn’t want to be stuck at the office late on a Friday night and 30 minutes gives them just enough time to work you a deal. As the clock ticks, the pressure is on them to close the sale. Be sure to tell them that you have all day Saturday to look at car dealerships if you don’t buy one today!

Time can be your enemy as well. If you are in a hurry to buy something and the salesperson figures this out, you won’t get a price break. Instead, act is if you have plenty of time. Don’t act like you are rushed and be sure to avoid any high-pressure closes like “if I can get that in gray for you will you take delivery tomorrow?”

Time is money. Be aware of time, because the money you save could be used to buy that next new car!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Loosing is Hard...

Scott says…

Loosing is hard on me. It’s hard on everyone. But I no longer look at a “failed” negotiation as loosing. Let’s start with definitions. A “failed” or “incomplete” negotiation as I prefer to call it is one in which neither buyer or seller (both parties) were able to see their needs met. This is also called a lose/lose negotiation.

I see a lose/lose situation as my fault, not the other parties. It is a chance for me not to feel sorry for myself or the failed negotiation, but as a opportunity for me to hone my skills and discover what it was about my preparation, strategy, tactics or goals/objectives that were not properly configured for the deal.

Someone in one of my classes the other day mentioned that they had carried cash to a car purchase and were trying to get the sale price down from $6,000 by $300 through displaying the lower amount in hard cash to the seller. He was disappointed that he had failed. In this situation I would not have felt bad about the deal but I would have spent time analyzing what I had done wrong. My suggestion to my friend is that maybe he didn’t take the time to understand the needs of the seller. Maybe he had a bill to pay or a down payment to make on another car that was precisely $6,000. Or maybe the seller didn’t really need to sell the car and could effectively use the “walk away” tactic. Still another option is that the car had great sentimental value and the seller mentally could just not part with it.

What probably went wrong is that the buyer did not take time to build some rapport with the seller. Just a little “small” talk and some pointed questions might have gotten the other party to demonstrate what it was about the car that would keep him/her from selling at the lower price.

Still, if you get to the end and it looks like the deal won’t happen, try the “hat and the door” tactic. I got this one from Zig Ziglar and it is fantastic. When you both agree the deal is not going to happen and you turn to leave (putting on your hat and reaching for the door) just stop and turn back to the seller. Ask them “I realize that we couldn’t come to an agreement, but I’m just curious. What is it about the car or the price that made you hold your ground so firmly?” More often that not the seller will tell you specifically why they wouldn’t come down on price! It is amazing how well it works. Often, when the negotiation is over the seller will drop their guard. “Well, this car is the one I used to date my wife and I asked her to marry me in it!” “Oh, well why didn’t you say so! Didn’t I tell you that I wanted to preserve this car and restore it to its original condition? This car will live forever! I just needed the $300 discount to make sure I had some extra money left over to get started on the minor repairs.”

Take the time to build rapport, and never feel like a negotiation is a loss. Every negotiation teaches you something and you’ll save money over time.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Negotiating isn't Fighting

Scott says…

Negotiating isn’t fighting. I really don’t like negotiating books and trainers that use the term adversary, opponent or even combatant as I read in one book recently. Many will even use military terms like battle, war and “shooting the other guy.” While the person or team on the other side of the table might be hostile, looking at the negotiation as a fight for “my needs” or as a battle is an equation for losing. You may win today, but you almost always loose in the long run.

I prefer Gerard I. Nierenberg’s style of looking at a negotiation as a collaboration. You can order his book The Art Of Negation in our bookstore. He says it is two parties trying to satisfy their needs in a way that benefits both parties. Once a negotiation turns adversarial emotions become involved and things get out of control. Should you feel that things have become adversarial, stop and try to understand why the other party is upset and why you are upset. Put yourself in their shoes and think how they would feel in the situation. Then try to correct it.

My favorite way to get things to simmer down is taking a break. I’ll make an excuse to leave the room and will go get a drink of water or pretend to talk on the phone. This gives me time to reflect on the discussions and to think about the other party. When I’ve collected my emotions I’ll go back to the table, often with my purpose and objectives clearly put back in my mind.

Many times I find that the other party is not frustrated with what is going on during the negotiation, but at something entirely unrelated. I had one negotiation get so out of control that both sides were calling each other names. We took a break and when I was walking out of the room the other team leader blew his nose and took a pill. I asked him if he had a cold and he said he should be in bed and that he’s had the flu for several days. I postponed the negotiation for a week and when he felt better, we closed the deal.

Don’t fight ‘em, delight ‘em. Be alert to anger and frustration as the break you take can save you money.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Give Me My Money

Scott says…

Lately I’ve been using a lot of my negotiating skills to get my money back. For some reason Marie and I are finding that we are being overcharged more, fined more, penalized more and just being plain old ripped off. I’m spending about 35% of my personal finance time just trying to get back what is owed me. Here are some key tips to help you get back what is due.

1. Keep watch over your accounts. Marie and I watch our bank statement closely and always question any charge that we don’t understand. Most of the time it is just a charge that one of the two of us made and didn’t bring the receipt back for the file. Other times it is an incorrect charge or a bank fee. Make sure you know where your money goes and question any charge, no matter how small. $5 per month in unknown fees is $60 per year!

2. Fight! We made a rule here at our household that no one takes money from us for goods or services we didn’t receive. I will go after any amount regardless of the size. When I opened up a new on-line money market account and made my first transfer, they executed the transfer twice by accident. Since it was for a large sum, it wiped out my bank checking account and caused it to bounce. I received a $50 fine from the checking account bank and another fine from the MMA for not having the funds, even though I did nothing wrong. I started with the bank first and spoke directly to the bank manager. After finally threatening to withdraw all my accounts immediately they reluctantly gave my $50 back. Then I began to argue with the MMA and did get my $50 credited after several phone calls and emails. My time to do this was well over the $100 that I was charged but it is important to let banks know that you won’t let them steal from you.

3. Make your utility companies explain their billing until you understand it. Recently we found out (when comparing bills with our neighbors) that our water bill was much higher than theirs. I examined the bills and they seemed logical but I didn’t understand everything. The water company was very nasty when I questioned them, but I held my ground. They said they would investigate but that they would charge me $50 to do so. I took the risk and agreed. We found out that our new water meter was defective and after a few more weeks of fighting got over $700 in refunds from the water company.

4. Don’t use credit cards. I’m finding that now that we’ve gotten rid of all our credit cards I don’t get accidentally billed all the time. There for about a year I got one incorrect charge each month on a credit card. Reoccurring fees that I didn’t authorize and “membership renewals” were the worst. Now that the cards are gone, life is much easier. If you still use cards, be sure to change your card numbers once a year.

Tenacity is the key to getting your money back. Use supporting documents, negotiate face to face when possible and document any promises and problems. Doing this helps your family save money!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Book Review – Negotiation Boot Camp

How to Resolve Conflict, Satisfy Customers, and Make Better Deals
By Ed Brodow
ISBN 0-385-51849-8





Ed Brodow is a negotiation coach. His book (which is available in our bookstore) is set up like his 10 week negotiation training classes. Basically, this book is a rehash of most of the classics in negotiating and doesn’t offer any really new insights to negotiation, unless you want to study the sex lives of Bonobo monkeys. It is a very good book for a new salesperson and outlines most of the basics of negotiation in a sales type setting. Brodow is known for his books on selling. One thing I particularly don’t like about the book is that he embraces the old school “opponent” or “combatant” type of style then turns around and pushes win/win on you without clarifying that these are really different strategies for negotiating. I think it is a good read for someone that just wants to learn a little before they take on a new sales position.

He who mentions price first, loses money

Scott says…

He who mentions price first, loses money. Keep this in writing on your desk. Engrave it on your phone. Paint it on your windshield. It is a very important thing to remember.

When negotiating, both parties have an idea of the price they would like to get. Let’s say you need to buy a crib for the new baby coming along in a few months. The furniture company had put a price of $600 on a nice one that your spouse likes. In the mind of the furniture salesperson she knows she gets a $120 commission on the crib and in her thoughts she is willing to give up $50 to make $70 today. So her price is $550.

You, on the other hand, have seen similar cribs priced from $250 to $1,000. Really, you want a good crib that is comfortable and safe for your child, and you have a price of $400 in mind. So, we are looking at $550 vs $400 and a gap of $150.

When you go into the negotiation you often don’t know what the other person’s target price is. That is why the retailer sticks a list price on things. For me that is their STARTING POINT, not the price I’ll pay. If I want the crib for less than the list I need to get the furniture salesperson to come off the price first. If I say “you know, I’d buy that if it was on sale for $400” that let’s the salesperson know where I stand in the deal, possible how much I have to spend and where the negotiation is heading. “Oh, you have $400! Well, let me show you this budget model…” and the negotiation goes down hill.

But what if this particular crib was going to be on sale and the salesperson’s commission was 50% of the sale? That would mean that the salesperson could sell the crib for less than the $400 I’m willing to pay, and I’ll lose money.

Let the seller move first on the opening price. You then can see where they stand and move them down accordingly. This will help you save big bucks!

Have a question about negotiating? Send it to us at scott@rainydayfinances.com!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Born-in Negotiating Skills?

While I don’t believe that negotiators are born and that they are made, I do believe that we all have some natural negotiating skills built in to our psyche. My example to support this statement is my little daughter who is three and a half. She can out-negotiate me most any day of the week.

The Pajama If/Then: At bedtime I’ll pick out her pajamas because if I let her do it we’ll be there all day. Tonight she doesn’t want to wear the purple jammies and she wants the pink jammies. I tell her no because they aren’t warm enough. She promises me that if I will let her wear the pink jammies then she’ll will sleep under the blanket tonight. I give in. The if/then tactic is a tit for tat approach for both parties to get what they want.

The Cookie Nibble:
When my daughter doesn’t eat dinner like she should she knows that she can’t have a cookie that evening. I’ll go get myself a cookie and the next thing I know she is standing under me. “Daddy, I know I can’t have a cookie, but could I just taste it a little?” Naturally she’ll get a cookie. A nibble is a sales tactic that adds profitable options to a done deal, such as window tinting on a car where you pay $250 for $25 worth of tinting.

The Princess Stall: Often we’ll read some books before my daughter goes to bed and usually they are books about princesses. In order to keep from having to go to bed my daughter will extend her reading time by begging me to read just one more book. Often this is followed by the statement “but Dad I really am learning how to read! Please! Please! Please! Just one more book!” Naturally I pick up Snow White and start reading. The stall tactic is used to gain more time for bargaining or to lengthen the negotiation in order to wear down the other party.

Watch your kids as they negotiate with you. Some of their tactics are brilliant and very effective, and you’ll lose money if you don’t watch out!

Drugstore Deals and Coupon Matching 1/18-1/24

Each week, I review many blogs to determine my shopping list and coupons before hitting the stores. Many of these bloggers spend hours combing the Internet and forums such as HotCouponWorld and SlickDeals to compile their lists. Since I am all for not re-inventing the wheel, I am going to link to my favorite blogs and briefly outline my shopping plan.

Here is what I plan to purchase this week.


  • CVS - nothing - I do have some ECB's to roll so I may check and see if my local CVS has re-stocked the Soy Joy 6 pack boxes
  • Rite Aid - Kleenex Facial Tissues, Vick's NyQuil, GE Light Bulbs Soft White Longer Life 2 pk.
  • Walgreens - Mauna Loa Chocolate covered Macadamias and Dixie Napkins

CVS 1/18 - 1/24

Common Sense With Money


Couponing 101

Keeping the Kingdom - CVS $5 Challenge

Savings Your Cents

Southern Savers

Surviving The Stores


The Freebie Blogger




RiteAid


Common Sense With Money


Southern Savers

The Freebie Blogger



Walgreens

Common Sense With Money

Couponing 101

Saving Your Cents

Southern Savers

Surviving The Stores

The Freebie Blogger

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