How to negotiate for a better deal on almost anything — including your interest rates

Imagine what you could do with several hundred extra dollars a month, simply by picking up the phone and negotiating for a better deal. 

Think what it would mean for your budget and lifestyle. You could pay off debt faster, fund your child’s RESP, save a bit for retirement, build your emergency cushion, eventually take that trip, and more.

Here’s a “classy” haggling process that’s worked really well for me, and one I teach my students, who get pretty impressive results.

Spoiler alert — your approach is everything.

Before you start demanding a better deal, narrow your focus 

Go through your expenses, line by line, by reviewing your bank statements and credit card transactions. Highlight a few that are particularly annoying, downright costly or that perhaps you could bundle or do without. Those pesky costs can be your first to negotiate. 

A few categories I see successfully negotiated on the regular are interest rates (and fees) on debts — credit cards, loans, lines of credit and mortgages — and given the recent drop in interest rates, loads of people are wondering how lower rates can benefit them … so your call won’t come out of nowhere. 

Insurance premiums for home and auto, cable and internet subscriptions, gym memberships and initiation fees, rent, cellphone packages, medical expenses not covered by insurance and the entire second-hand market for almost anything.

There will be more categories to negotiate, trust me. Last month, one of my students negotiated her mom’s care costs down by $5,000 per month! It took a few hours of research and three phone calls to get that done.

Research your numbers so you know exactly what to ask for

Before you set up a call to negotiate rent with your landlord, or phone the 1-800 line or visit the store for any vendor, be clear on what you’re going to be asking for. Otherwise, your price will be set for you, and in almost every case they are going to do what they can to maximize their profits. 

Scan the market for comparable prices on what you’re negotiating. As Black Friday and Cyber Monday approach, the deals will be dropping left, right and centre. Pay close attention, save screenshots and links of really good offers for discounts, fees and lower interest rates, keep those flyers and promotion letters in front of you. If someone knocks on your door offering a promotion, save the print materials. This is the kind of evidence you might need for the negotiation. If it happens to be your rent you’re negotiating, you can look up listings yourself, or make a quick call to a local realtor who can help you understand what they are seeing for rent rates, too. 

Specifically around credit card, line of credit and loan offers, it is extremely helpful to have gone the distance in your research so that you potentially have a proposal in front of you from a competing institution. You don’t need to sign the proposed deal! Just have it ready. As an example, if you’re being offered a consolidation loan for three per cent less than your current one, have that offer on paper.

Think about what’s in it for them

Now you’re ready to negotiate. The mindset I’ve found particularly helpful comes from Chris Voss’s book “Never Split the Difference.” Before you ask for anything, consider what the other side might want or need.

Is customer retention the most important thing to them? Are they looking for longer-term commitments? Do they need referrals? How about reviews on Google? Or is fetching the highest price the key for them, and they’re willing to throw in more perks?

If you’ve got what they need, they’ll be much more likely to negotiate with you.

At the beginning of the conversation, you’re going to tell them you understand their needs and make it clear why you’re their ideal client. Essentially, you’re reminding them that you’re worth keeping as a client.

Now, you make your “ask” — for a better price, better rate, fee rebate, more perks — whatever it is that you want to focus on.

Keep the conversation upbeat but firm

Politeness doesn’t mean you’re a pushover; it actually helps progress the conversation. You’re simply laying out the facts and clarifying your “ask.” So stay cool and try a version of this script. 

You: I love the service, and would love to stay. But prices have come down across the board and it’s important for my financial health to save money on this.

Vendor: Glad you like it. (Blah blah about how valuable and unique the product is).

You: Totally agree it’s a great product. But your competitor is offering essentially the same thing for $25 less per month. Let me show you (this is where you present the evidence).

Vendor: OK, but wouldn’t it be a pain for you to switch?

You: Although I’ve been with you for five years now, and have never missed a payment, I don’t consider it an inconvenience to switch providers. It would save me hundreds of dollars annually.

Vendor: I understand. To be clear, you’re asking for a $25 discount on your monthly bill. Is that correct?

You: Yes. And I would be happy to leave a positive Google review and refer a neighbour your way, because I know how important growing your business is.

Vendor: OK, if you can do that, I’ll match the price. I’ll give you the referral code for your neighbour now.

You: Great, that works for me.

A bit of time to respond is OK, but don’t let it linger 

Especially if you’ve been with them for a while or it’s a bigger-ticket item, give the current provider an opportunity to respond. You might be surprised how willing they are to match once they’ve touched base with their manager or loyalty department. Outline an expectation on response time. If it lapses, be willing to take your business elsewhere.

I recently negotiated the annual renewal price of my CRM system for my business. The vendor was slower than molasses in January and missed the agreed deadline to respond. I started the cancellation. Within minutes they woke up, realized I was serious about switching, met the competitive price and offered a further $700 discount. 

You should always be willing to walk away from a bad deal. Equally important is knowing when you’re getting a good deal for what you need.

This article was originally published in The Star. Lesley-Anne Scorgie is a Toronto-based personal finance columnist and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star.