
If there is one thing I have noticed about most humans its that there are a very small percentage of us who are actually happy to ask financial questions, for a discount or better offer or even query things when talking money. Then there is the rest of us. Think back and remember the times you may have shied away from asking a question of someone because you didn’t want to seem silly or you didn’t want to appear to not know what they were talking about. And that is exactly the response I am talking about today.
Can it be as easy as asking?
Going shopping with my girl yesterday bought to my attention how different we all can be when it comes to asking questions or negotiating with finances. It was as simple as a store in our local mall was running 20% off store wide but my lady couldn’t quite find what she wanted. We then walked a little further along and into that their competition. We found a similar product or something close but unfortunately they weren’t running the same discount. To be honest I was ready to walk out and try somewhere else but Kym quite simply asked “would you be interested in meeting the discount your competition is offering?” As soon as the sales clerk found out what was going on with her competitors she was happy to offer the same discount to secure our business. It “sounds” easy I know but do you see how my mindset was “dont bother” but my lady was thinking completely differently and look at the result she achieved!
Can you treat more complex finances this way?
I know what your already going to say…sure using this method to spend $100 on an item works but can we really use this when it comes to more complex or more expensive financial transactions? Or can it? All I am talking about here is a different way of looking at how you consider asking questions, asking for discount and trying to obtain a better deal. For many of us we are uncomfortable asking for discounts or better deals. So what is it making us feel this way;
- Is it we feel a price is the price?
- That we dont deserve a better deal?
- That only rude people ask for discount?
- That we dont dare negotiate or the seller/vendor may think bad things of us?
See how all of those are internal or personal decisions you are making about yourself or about how other people think about you. You dont know the other party is thinking that nor do you have any evidence of that! Yet you apply these to a small financial deal so what will you do for the big deals? Still dont think you can ask financial questions to get a better deal?
How many questions does it take for a better financial deal?
As per my experience shopping with my lady today I am challenging you all to look at how you think about financial deals and whether to open your mouth and ask. Whether they range from small ones to big ones. Read, remember and apply the following questions /statements now and hopefully the next time you undertake to ask financial questions it wont represent that big a deal for you to “Ask”.
- Shouldn’t the financial deal be a win for you as well as the seller?
- Small questions or big question does it really matter what the seller thinks about you? What matters is how good the deal is for both parties.
- If you can ask a simple question on a $50 deal than isn’t asking questions on a $50,000 dollar transaction even more important?
- Whole nations make an “art” of negotiation and asking for a better deal. If they can do it why cant you?
- Remember many sellers “assume” they will be asked to negotiate or deal slightly and factor this into their initial pricing. You dont want to miss out on a better deal do you?
Negotiated a good deal? Lost out on a transaction as you didn’t ask the question? Leave us your comments and dont forget to share with your friends and associates so they too can learn how to better ask financial questions.
***Photo thanks to Colin Kinner***
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