Wedding Negotiation

If you're going to succeed at wedding negotiation, you need to make sure you prepare thoroughly. Knowing exactly what you want, what you need and what's available at what price will stand you in good stead for getting more for your money and saving a considerable amount on your wedding. It can mean the difference between saving hundreds or saving thousands on your wedding.

So how do you go about it? Well, it's all about managing your budget and planning carefully. If you know exactly how much things cost and how much you've got to spend, you'll know what you can and can't have, but you'll also know what you could stretch to, or make your supplier stretch to.

Being forearmed with detailed information of what's available out there and speaking to lots of different suppliers is the basis for your negotiations. You'll have an understanding of the marketplace, be knowledgeable and know exactly what you can get for your money.

This kind of knowledge is invaluable as suppliers will take you seriously; you'll be able to able to play one supplier off against another or simply use the information to get more for your money.

Then once you've nailed down your budget and thoroughly considered all aspects of your wedding, you know what's available out there and you know who you want to go with, you need to know how to ask for discounts, or ask for more so you get exactly what you want. This is a difficult skill and where most negotiators slip up, but with the right language and tried and tested techniques, you're guaranteed to get the response you want. Thinking about these things and planning out your techniques all fall into the careful planning you should be doing in order to save on your wedding.

Do you think a successful businessman goes into a negotiation with a supplier without preparing? And if he did, do you think he'd win? I think we both know the answer to that one. Planning is critical to success, not matter what type of negotiation you're doing. So with your wedding, arm yourself with tools you need to succeed and you'll save thousands.

Negotiation is all about discussion. In order to get a better deal or more for your money, you need to talk to the supplier. It's an essential part of the process.

With negotiation, having a relationship with the suppliers is what it's all about. After all, if you have a good relationship with someone, they're more likely to help you.

Think about the people you work with. Those that like you are much more willing to help you than those that you don't know at all, unless of course you're the boss. In my job as a advertising executive, relationships were critical to getting the job done. I had to leverage all my power of persuasion to ensure we delivered for our client. If I didn't have those good relationships, I would have failed in my job and probably got the sack! What about in your work? Don't you find that it's easier to get other people to help you if you have a good relationship with them?

It's the same with your wedding suppliers. Get them to like you, involve them in your conversations, use their expertise and make them a friend. They'll then be far more willing to provide you with additional services, or work within your budget than those who you have no relationship with.

Another way to see them is as a partner or friend up to and on your wedding day. Best to keep them that way to ensure you get the result you want.

Developing good rapport and relationships

So how do you go about building a relationship with someone? For some people, it just comes naturally, for others it's a bit more work.

These days, most of us don't even stop to say 'hi' to people we know on the street, let alone strike up a conversation with strangers in a shop. Well, to get what you want, you're going to have to!

Building rapport with your suppliers is going to be critical to getting them to like you. And, as I've said before, when someone likes you, they'll do more for you.

Rapport is the foundation of a good relationship. If you can build up rapport with someone, you're well on the way to having a good, solid, strong and long relationship.

Rapport can be formed through verbal and non-verbal communication. First all let's start with non-verbal communication.

You can find out how to build rapport in more detail here.

Language is very important as it can be the difference between getting a 'no' response and a 'yes' response.

Language alone is not enough. You also need to develop your rapport with the vendor and build your confidence so you get the outcome you want.

When you get in front of the supplier, you've done all your preparation, you've built a bit of rapport with them, next comes your request for a discount or more extras. How exactly should you word this?

There are certainly some ways of wording the request that you should avoid and there are plenty of tricks that you can use that will help you get your desired response. Here's an outline of some of these tricks:

Avoid using negative language
Many people approach negotiation with the attitude that they're not going to get a discount or get what they want. It comes down to idea that we're used to getting what we're given and the paying the price on the price tag.

Many people ask questions to their suppliers that evoke a one word answer. More importantly, they use a negative question that already assumes that you know what you want isn't possible. The response you get from the supplier is a big, fat 'no'. Look at these examples, how many times have you used them and failed?

- You can't do a deal on that can you?

- I don't suppose you could work within my budget of £x,xxx?

Instead of these negative questions, you need to use positive statements that show you're confident and a serious buyer.

Positive language encourages a 'yes' response
If you avoid the negatives and put a positive spin on the question, you'll more than likely get a 'yes' response. Obviously, the more 'yes' responses you get, the better the outcome will be. As soon as you hit a 'no', it's difficult to go further, but we'll cover tricks to get past this hurdle later. At the moment, these tips are about beginning the negotiation, so let's focus on the first few 'yes' responses.

Once you've built up a rapport you can start to talk about the relationship between you and the supplier. You can do this by using a plural in your questions which suggest you're a team, you work together, you want both parties to be involved and gain from the deal. This kind of language virtually always gets a 'yes' response.

- Can we do a deal on that?

- Are you flexible?

- What's your best deal?

Another way to use positive language is to use statements, rather than questions. Statements tend to be more factual, suggest confidence and that you're a serious buyer. Notice how each of the statements take you one step closer to finalising the deal and show that you're genuinely interested. They're positive statements and if the supplier wants a sale, then you're likely to get the deal you want.

- If the price is right, I'll buy today.

- You can do better than that.

- We can do a deal on that.

Avoid questions that get a one word answer
When you want to expand the offering for the same price, you need be careful how you request it. It's important to avoid questions that allow the supplier to give you a one word answer, especially if that one word might be 'no'.

Another trick with the supplier is to assume that items are included when you're asking the supplier, rather than asking the supplier outright if the item is included. (This is the only time I'll ask you to assume anything. In general, never assume anything - especially when you're fact finding.)
Take a look at these examples:

- Don't use this: Can I have ribbon with that?

- Instead phrase it this way: How much ribbon is included with that?

You're assuming that ribbon is included with the purchase, which makes it harder for the supplier to say 'no'. If they want to make a sale, they're likely to throw it in.

So, you can see that the language you use has a huge affect on the outcome of your negotiations. Don't forget though, that your rapport with the supplier and your confidence will also go along way to making sure you get what you want.

The three excerpts above have been taken from Negotiate Your Way to a Cheap Wedding.

This outstanding book shares all the wedding negotiation secrets you need, including proven strategies for getting up to 60% off your wedding.

With tried and tested strategies you'll discover the best tactics to get great discounts and added extras totally free.

It's all laid out in easy to follow steps, providing you with the complete guide to saving more on your wedding.

Here are just some of the things you'll learn:
- Easy ways to boost your confidence so negotiating is a breeze.

- What language you should use to get up to 50% off your wedding package.

- How you can get free upgrades on your wedding package.

- How to choose the right style of negotiation for the right wedding vendor.

- How to avoid the negative 'no' response.

- When the best time to negotiate is with different suppliers.

- How to compare different wedding vendors so you get more for money.

- The budget busting mistakes that brides make, so you don't follow in their footsteps.

- How to use authority figures to get even bigger discounts.

- What to do when it all goes wrong so you can use it to your advantage and end up getting even more!

- Relationship building techniques that get a 'yes' response when you ask for a discount.

- Confidence boosting tricks that are guaranteed to make you win.

- How to get FREE canapés and champagne at your reception.

- How to avoid the industry traps that make you spend more.

- The 'must-do' tips to ensure negotiation success.

- A powerful negotiating strategy that turns negotiating into simple, easy conversations you'll enjoy.

- How to avoid losing at negotiation.

- and much more!

Find out more now about Negotiate Your Way to a Cheap Wedding now >>>