Haggle

Haggling Works

Haggling works – its as simple as that and it can drastically reduce your expenditure. You don’t need to have the ‘gift of the gab’ for it to work an sure what’s the worst that can happen? The worst is that you will be refused. You will be no worse off.

To get started, here are a few tips that I have found helpful:

• Pick a soft target

• Benchmark the best deal

• Tell them you want to leave

• Use the ‘Haggle Locker’ – a list of good steps to follow

To get you started, this is a quote from a well known and successful person in business:

“Loyal customers are like manna from heaven. We love them. They stay with us through thick and thin, paying full price, never checking if their deal is competitive. They take whatever crap we give them. They are our cash cows”

Benchmark

Take a look at what’s out there and you’ll get a feel for what type of discount is realistic. Use the deals you see in the market as your leverage. Target these providers:

• TV providers

• Broadband and home phone

• Contract phones

• Breakdown cover

• Car and home insurance

Ask for Customer Retentions

Ask for the Customer Retentions Department. Its their job to stop you leaving - they have massive deal making power. State that you are intending to leave:

• ‘I am considering leaving’

• ‘I need to get the best deal in the market’

Repeat the request and be genuine. Remind the business that if they can match the competitor then the business is theirs.

Know the market – know a ‘fair price’.

Find out if you are out of contract or at the end of your contract. This gives you massive leverage. Put these dates on your calendar. Don’t forget to ask yourself:

Are you a ‘cash cow’?

Things to Say

If you are unsure what to say, here are a few good proven things to use:

• ‘I’ve worked out a budget and my absolute max is £______’

• ‘NAME OF COMPANY can do that for less’

• ‘I need to think about it’

• ‘I think the missus will go bonkers if I pay that’

• ‘Its still a lot of money’

• ‘What’s the very best you can do?’

Maximise Your Chances with ‘The Haggle Locker’

Here are a few steps that you could follow to ensure that your chances of savings are at their highest:

• Use charm, cheek and a smile

• Highlight the problems

• Haggle at the right time (end of month, quarter)

• Genuine

• ‘Match the competitor and the business is yours’

• Know the market – know a ‘fair price’

• Ask for the ‘Retentions Department’

• Ask to speak to a supervisor

• Don’t say ‘yes’ to your first offer

• Ask for deal prices even after the offer is finished

• Don’t fill the silence

• If it doesn’t work once, try again

• Ask for added extras

• Ask for the sun and you might get the moon