Sometimes knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing the right things to do.  This is definitely the case when it comes to negotiating.  I think people get nervous about saying the wrong things during a negotiation fearing that all the negotiation tips they learned before will be wasted.

You don’t need to have a background in sales to be successful during a negotiation.  In fact, you can do very well in almost any situation if you remember these four warnings about negotiating.

1. Don’t Fall For Their Anchor

What’s an anchor?  It’s the starting offer that’s designed to make you adjust your expectations.  Usually an anchor is set by the first person to set a price.  For example, let’s say you’re buying a used car.  The seller says, “I want $ 8,000 for the car.”  They’ll go on and on about why it’s worth that much in an attempt to give their anchor more credibility.  They want you to think its value is definitely close to that anchor price of $ 8,000.

But you won’t be fooled because you can (and should!) set your own anchor.  I hope you’ve come prepared and know the going rate and what you want to pay for the car, so set your anchor at least 20% below that.  If similar cars are selling for $ 6,000, and you don’t want to pay more than $ 6,000 for a car, set your anchor at $ 4,800.  Yes, the seller will probably gasp, but you should too because they are going to try to set an anchor higher than the average price.  Why shouldn’t you do the same!