“What prompted you to consider a purchase of this nature?” “Who else have you been speaking to?” “What was your experience with…?” “What time frames are you working with?” “What is most important to you about this?”

It is also important to learn as much about your competitors as possible. This will help you defeat possible price objections and prevent someone from using your competitor as leverage.

Practice at every opportunity. Most people hesitate to negotiate because they lack confidence. Develop this confidence by negotiating more frequently. Ask for discounts from your suppliers. As a consumer, develop habit of asking for a price break when you buy from a retail store. Here are a few questions or statements you can use:

“You’ll have to do better than that.” “What kind of discount are you offering today?” “That’s too expensive.” Wait for their response afterwards. Learn to flinch.

Be pleasant and persistent but not demanding. Condition yourself to negotiate at every opportunity will help you become more comfortable, confident and successful.

Maintain your walk away power. It is better to walk away from a sale rather than make too large a concession or give a deep discount your product or service. After attending my workshops, salespeople often tell that this strategy gives them most leverage when dealing with customers. However, it is particularly challenging to do when you are in midst of a sales slump or slow sales period. But, remember that there will always be someone to sell to.

Negotiating is a way of life in some cultures. And most people negotiate in some way almost every day. Apply these strategies and you will notice a difference almost immediately.

To establish credibility nothing beats a full no questions asked money back guarantee. Don't ask me why but stronger you make your guarantee the less likely it is that you will have to honour it. Some customers may (will) even take advantage of your guarantee, don't worry increased sales you will make by offering a strong guarantee will far outweigh disadvantages.

You've had your surfer on your site for three minutes now, you have hopefully convinced your prospect of all benefits owning your product will bring, you now need to create an urgency. Don't forget surfer still has mouse in his hand and that little red x (the close button) is still up at top of page. You need to convince prospect to purchase your offer now, not tommorow or another day.

If none of that worked, at least you had prospect on your page for a few minutes. But you still have one last resort. You could stategically place your subscribe button up near dreaded red x because your prospect may have liked your site enough to click on subscribe button on his way off your site.

You may even end up with a loyal customer for years to come.

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Kerry Harrington http://www.wealthwriter.com AOL Friendly Link