End of Financial Year: Ready, Set, Negotiate
In business, we are bombarded by information telling us that it’s the end of the financial year. Go to the mall, and JB Hifi and Harvey Norman shout at you too. We’ve even created a new word EOFY.
So what does that mean for you? Well, there are some opportunities to negotiate good deals. Why? Because you know that the other person is negotiating with a deadline and they need to get the sale.
What do we mean? Well, the list below tells you when the financial year ends for some companies:
- JB Hifi: June 30
- Harvey Norman: June 30
- Officeworks (Wesfarmers): June 30
Take a moment to imagine you are a senior manager in any of these three organisations. What do you want to have by June 30? The highest possible revenue. And so you will be pushing everyone to sell everything they can. So the budgets for all salespeople are high, and they are keen to get every possible sale.
“I have a deadline. I’m glad. I think that will help me get it done.”
Since salespeople want to get every possible sale, they are all looking for the serious buyer who knows what they want and are serious about buying before June 30.
“Whoever said money can’t buy happiness didn’t know where to go shopping.”
How can you show them you are a serious buyer?
You must be prepared. Know what you are looking for, don’t waste time in the shop trying to narrow your choices. Go armed with a general specification. Let’s say you are looking for a new laptop. Before you go, answer these questions about what you are looking for:
- Hard disc size (minimum): 512 GB
- Disc Type: SSD or HDD
- Screen size: 14 inch or 15inch
- Processor: i7
- Brands you will consider: Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, Asus, Microsoft
This will be your minimum. You may well get offered more; then you can assess if it’s worth it for you. To know if it’s worth it before you go into the shop you must use the internet to research prices.
“My best tip for negotiating with a supplier is to always get the service quotes by at least three other suppliers.”
In the shop, when they ask “Can I help you?” Answer yes I am looking for …. Watch them get interested as they know you are a serious buyer.
How can you negotiate a better deal?
“Everything is negotiable. Whether or not the negotiation is easy is another thing.”
You must prepare. In this situation, you will get the best deals for items that are in stock. So, in this situation delivery period is not relevant. What are some variables?
Price is one, but that’s not enough. How about including a laptop bag? What about an extra power cable (one for the office and one for home)? What about adapters or a mouse? Don’t limit yourself to obvious extras, what about a good set of earphones or a Bluetooth speaker? Extras like this have good value for you, and the shop can often do a good deal on these extras because they are high margin (low cost) items. What this means is they can give you $200 off the price of extras easier than they can give you $100 cash off the price of the computer.
“Negotiation is often described as the art of letting the other side have your way. You have to give the other side a chance to put stuff on the table voluntarily.”
Tell the salesperson you are going to look in another shop and be willing to walk away to the other shop. If you do this, then when you return tell them you want to buy today if you can get the right deal. Otherwise, you will leave it for another day.
“Never forget the power of silence, that massively disconcerting pause which goes on and on and may induce an opponent to babble and backtrack nervously. ”
Never forget the power of silence, that massively disconcerting pause which goes on and on and may last induce an opponent to babble and backtrack nervously. – Lance Morrow
Be patient, take your time. Taking your time puts more pressure on the salesperson because they want to get your order and then move on to the next order. Keep telling them: You will have to do better than that.
One last piece of advice. Use one of Stephen Kozicki’s favourite negotiating questions: What can we do to make this happen today?