Make it harder for businesses to say no with this super-simple move

It is all in how you ask.

Photo by Zan Lazarevic on Unsplash

Hi there, my friend.

Below are a few of my favorite paragraphs from my book, “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How To Take Control Of Your Financial Life.”

The book — like this Substack — is all about helping you pay less, earn more and keep more of your hard-earned money by asking the right questions in various everyday situations.

So what makes a question “the right question”? There are so many factors that go into that, but this post is about an aspect of negotiations that you might not have thought of.

Read the excerpt below to learn more…

Open-ended questions make it harder to say no

A simple “no” can stop any negotiation dead in its tracks. Those two powerful little letters can make people cower, and even the possibility of hearing them keeps a lot of folks from asking for a better deal. You can ensure that you hear it less often, however, and one of the best ways is to use open-ended questions.

Open-ended questions can’t be answered by a simple yes or no. Used skillfully, these can help you avoid someone shutting down a negotiation before it starts. The scripts in this book feature lots of open-ended questions. Look at these examples of closed and open questions.

• Splitting the bill at a group gathering:

  • Closed: “Can we split the bill evenly?”

  • Open: “How can we split the bill so that we all pay our fair share?

• Negotiating vehicle repair:

  • Closed: “Can I get a lower price on this repair?”

  • Open: “What can we do to lower the price for this repair?”

• Escalating a conversation to a manager:

  • Closed: “May I speak with someone else on your team?”

  • Open: “Who else on your team can I ask about this?”

In the examples above, the open-ended questions avoid a conversational dead end. They don’t guarantee a positive response — because the other side still can respond that they can’t do anything about it — but open questions make it virtually impossible to kill the request with a “no.” That’s a big deal because, if you never hear “no,” you might keep pressing forward with your request. If you do, you never know what could happen.

That’s it. Thoughtful phrasing can go a long way. Not only does it make it harder for someone to say no, but it can also make you sound less combative. You’re not coming in hot in full-attack mode. You’re asking to work with the customer service representative to find a deal that works for both parties.

That stuff matters. Remember: People generally want to help, but they’re more likely to want to help if you’re not being a jerk.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that you have to be a pushover. It just means that, as the old saying goes, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar.

(By the way, in the 110-plus interviews I did for my book, I can’t even tell you how many times that phrase — or something close to it — came up. That must mean there’s something to it, right?)

I haven’t forgotten…

A few weeks ago, I teased that a giveaway would likely be coming in the next week or two.

Well, sometimes life happens.

I promise that the giveaway is coming soon. I just need a little extra time.

Until next time!

Matt