The Art and Skill: How To Negotiate Confidently
“How much for the toaster?” asked the buyer.
“Five dollars,” said the seller.
“I’ll give you three,” the buyer replied.
“It’s five,” the seller repeated.
“How about four?” the buyer persisted.
The seller stood his ground and for the third time repeated, “It’s five.”
Ten minutes later the buyer returned and said “Fine. I’ll give you five.”
And the seller calmly said, “It’s ten.”
The buyer walked away AGAIN in a huff. The seller’s child, who was present, stood there in disbelief – mortified, embarrassed, and confused about why her father wouldn’t take money offered to him by a stranger for a used toaster.
This is a true story. The story of my Carmie Trimarco, a dogged azerbaijan telegram data salesman. And I was the child who uncomfortably witnessed it at the age of eleven or twelve. It was my first lesson in sales negotiation that I can recall. It was that moment in time that selling became my birthright, and it all started in a flea market in Chicago at the corner of Division & Cicero.
This wasn’t the first flea market I worked in, nor was it my first lesson in sales, but it was the tipping point for understanding the art and skill of sales negotiation. It was also where I learned confidence.
I’ve told the “toaster story” so many times that some people who have seen me for a second or third time at an event have asked me to repeat it. It’s such a simple story with such a powerful lesson.
And then while “reading” Jeb Blount’s INKED (listening on Audible), I heard him talking about learning and practicing sales negotiation skills in flea markets. Yes!!! It all made sense now why negotiating has never made me uncomfortable. I’ve been doing it since I was ten, if not younger.
Eventually, as I grew into adulthood, I appreciated my father’s motives for making me work every weekend with him. He wanted to teach me about work ethic, self-reliance, responsibility, punctuality, and building rapport. But I never really thought about the sales lessons I learned in those experiences until a few years ago.