How To Pay Less For More - Book review by Maggie Woods

How To Pay Less For More (The Consumer’s Guide to
Negotiating the Best Deals — Whatever You’re Buying

“Have you ever felt ripped
off when you’ve bought
something? Did you
wonder if you could have
bought it cheaper if you’d
only had the confidence to
negotiate? Well, here’s a
book telling you how to do
just that. How To Pay Less
For More is out now...”

DO YOU TELL YOURSELF you'll never be able to afford to buy your own house or a new car because you can't afford them? Do you think that everyone else is getting bargains but you aren't? Are you intimidated by sales people and do you find it difficult to complain about anything or even to negotiate with your employers for more flexible working hours? If any of this sounds familiar, then you need to read Marc Lockley's How To Pay Less For More: The Consumer's Guide to Negotiating the Best Deals — Whatever You're Buying.

Although it's generally true that the harder you negotiate the more likely it is that you will succeed, there are certain pointers that you need in order to start planning your strategies — including doing your homework. You may not realise you already have the skills to negotiate — they simply need to be unlocked. And unlocking them could save
you thousands. How To Pay Less For More will help you to acquire the skills to negotiate better deals in every area of your life.

Marc Lockley is a Negotiation Coach. He explains the basic skills and applies them to common situations that we all experience — whether at home, while shopping or in the workplace — and he brings simplicity to the art of a satisfying negotiation.

A guide to the language of negotiation and interpreting body language is included and also an ideal projection of the outcome, reaching a good deal or walking away. Remember that people buy people, so your behaviour counts as well. And are you talking to the decision-maker? The book tells you what can you do to get a better deal and gives pointers on what you can do to help others give you a better deal.

There is a step-by-step guide to buying a property — including what not to say in front of either the seller or the estate agent. You need
to be cautious of what you say, how you say it and what you might unwittingly give away.

Advice is given on holiday discounts or negotiating extras; along with discounts on weddings, buying a new car, complaining effectively — sometimes to get some sort of compensation — and getting better pay or working conditions, in order to create the life balance you want. There is even information on how to be successful buying or selling at boot fairs, which can be a great learning ground.

It is worth thinking of ways to compromise: friends of mine were trying to buy a speedboat but, although they had been negotiating, the price would not come down enough for them to make a commitment so I suggested that they asked the salesman to split his commission with them. They bought the boat and the salesman got a sizeable — if not exactly what he'd expected — commission.

After leaving The Daily Mail as Head of Agency Sales, Marc Lockley became a Negotiation Coach and founded Lockley Associates, which specialises in developing individuals' leadership and negotiation skills. Marc estimates that by using the skills he teaches, he saves himself thousands of pounds each year. But that's only the beginning. Negotiation, he says, is an art that has a bearing on all aspects of life.

A practical guide to any negotiation, Marc says that you will benefit whether you read the book from cover to cover to create your own strategy for success (we recommend that!) or if you just use it as a quick reference by reading the chapter relevant to your particular needs, as and when you want to.

• How To Pay Less For More: The Consumer's Guide to Negotiating the Best Deals — Whatever You're Buying by Marc Lockley is out now in paperback (218 pages) and is available from all good bookshops at an RRP of £8.99 (ISBN 978-1-84528-237-0).

Contents — 1. So how are you going to save me thousands? | 2. The salesperson | 3. The skills and techniques — verbal | 4. The skills and techniques — non-verbal clues | 5. Buying Property | 6. Selling Property | 7. A Wedding or a Party | 8. Booking hotels and holidays | 9. Buying a showroom car | 10. Buying a used car from a private individual | 11. Complaining effectively | 12. Getting a pay rise | 13. Working flexible hours | 14. Summary — it doesn't end there...

Check out www.howtobooks.co.uk

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