I have fond memories of accompanying my mum on day long trips to the market every month, to replenish food and groceries. Back then I found it frustrating that we had to walk deep into the recesses, past all the meat sellers on the sides until we got to the meat ‘depot’ where we would get big chunks of meat for half the price the side sellers on the outer parts sold. It was same for every item.
I shudder when I remember watching the live chicken sellers mass killing of chickens as I vowed not to eat chicken ever again until of course, the enticing aroma of yummy cooked chicken beckoned on me😜 Pardon my digress.
As we went from seller to seller, I watched my mum bargain with such ease and ingenuity. She skillfully assessed each seller's demeanor and employed different tactics to match their personality and the particular situation.
Many times, the sellers would refuse the price she requested and after much back and forth, she would walk out of their stall. When I reminded her we really needed the item, she’ll whisper ‘don’t worry’ and then I would watch as they called her back into the stall, to purchase at her price.
I also watched as she used a lot of humor during bargaining, sometimes feigning surprise or annoyance at a sellers price. Every single time, we had to check the price of an item with several sellers before settling on the ‘best’. She sure had to get her BATNA* for each item so we walked across the ends of the market (or so it seemed to my little legs) pricing various items and making a mental note of the prices. My super mum, I still don’t know how she remembered all the prices without any mobile/physical notepad or spreadsheet! And at the end of the day, my feet hurt from roaming around the market sourcing ‘best’ deals.
It wasn’t until recently that I actually connected the dots, all the bargaining skills I use with suppliers now, I learnt from her. Every single one of them. Even though she did not learn them in school, the tactics she employed back then now have proper definitions as given in the procurement and negotiation books. Amazing isn’t it?
Thanks to mama, all of these tactics and more are detailed in Mastering Negotiations a short online course which is available in Efemini Academy for free. Check it out here
PS: Watch till the end where we dissect some expert negotiator tactics
*BATNA: Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement or as I like to describe it, Best Alternative To No Agreement
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