Asking For Discounts

Simply use one magic word with everyone you meet and put thousands of dollars into your pockets - works every time!

There's a single word that can lead you to greater income opportunities and greater savings when you are spending money. One short word which many people put out their minds for fear of looking foolish or stupid. Yet by using this word, by risking the slightest bit, untold riches await you.

What's that magic word? Try "Ask." Good things come to those of us who ask.

A polite inquiry never hurts. A well-phrased question can be assertive without being so aggressive that you turn off the listener and cause him to refuse your request. A question can open a door that your listener simply forgot to mention to you.

A good place for asking is a hotel. Hotels will frequently quote a standard room rate, but you only have to inquire about a discount rate to receive it, saving yourself anywhere from ten to fifty percent on the cost of the room.

What we have here is negotiating plain and simple. Negotiating is nothing more than the art of exploring possibilities and reaching that point where both parties feel they are benefiting from the transaction. It is wheeling and dealing, cutting a deal positive for both sides.

In the current recession, asking for a better deal has become a more acceptable approach than it might have been in the late eighties. Companies want your business, and their willing to negotiate for it. All you have to do is give them a hint you're interested. Get the ball rolling.

Many of us are too used to accepting the formal, posted price in a store to take a shot at bargaining. But bargaining can work if you're dealing with the person with the authority to change the price on the spot - and that could be the owner, or it could be the salesperson. Negotiating is becoming more common these days in small retail stores and other commercial businesses. One writer notes that understanding the other side is the most important element of negotiating, and right now the other side wants to generate revenue - even if it's at the expense of a large profit margin.

Take a shot at asking a few questions when you go out to make a purchase. You'll find yourself saving a lot of money.