Huddle ~ Work Better Together

Negotiations aka haggling

Watching the whole Microsoft / Yahoo debacle makes me scratch my head. I know I wouldn’t want to be Jerry Yang’s position. Go too low and your shareholders aren’t happy, too high and lose the deal. My friends at Yahoo are getting very restless, and aren’t too thrilled with their leader.

It’s interesting to see Microsoft do the “walk away”. I have this funny image of Jerry Yang chasing Steve Balmer through a crowded market yelling okay I’ll take “$33!”

I spent a good portion of my life in Bangkok. One essential skill Bangkokians or Thai’s have is our ability to haggle. Let’s face it… it’s a skill that many folks in the western world don’t get to practice. It’s always fun to watch my western friends haggle for the first time. Some start off uber-aggressive while others take a much more gentle approach.

Like with everything, skills come with practice. Whether it is a high stakes merger negotiation or £1 off a T-shirt you found at the Night Bazaar there are really 4 simple rules.

1. Don’t be a jerk! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen deals go south because the vendor just thinks you’re jerk. Keep it friendly, smile, play the game.

2. Know your price. You should have a general idea of what something should cost. If you know the approximate range start a little lower… keep it friendly start at 50%… typically they’ll Say no way and then the haggling process begins.

3. Walk away. No I’m not saying this should be your sole tactic. Vendors know when you want something. (They do this for a living…) What I’m saying is that you’ll find the identical product 10 stalls away. Gauge a price from the first vendor use it on a second vendor. (Be careful not to do it too close to the original vendor, chances are they’re owned by the same peeps.) The second point is that if you can genuinely walk away they can sense this and make a last ditch effort to work with you.

4. Have perspective. This isn’t a hostage negotiation, you’re on vacation buying a $3 T-Shirt. At the end of the day you may find yourself haggling over $1 (.50p for my English readers!). Seriously when is the next time you’re going to be there? If you want it, buy it.

Last I heard, Jerry was still open for negotiations… I bet he is.