Negotiating Skills for Bloggers

Many bloggers aren’t natural sales people. And that can become an issue when you’re running a one person blog and it’s time to earn some money.

I’ve talked a great deal about selling advertising on your blog, and one of the key skills when selling advertising, or anything else, is the ability to negotiate.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It should be a Win-Win

Let’s talk about some ways to get more from a negotiation. But the golden rule for me is that both parties in a negotiation should walk away as winners. There’s no pleasure in ripping somebody off by giving them bad value, and there’s no point in selling your product or service at a price that doesn’t make you a reasonable return.

Don’t fall at the first hurdle

Most business buyers are “programmed” to try for a discount – it’s part of what they do. The mistake many sellers make is to cave at the first mention of discount.

I hear exchanges like this all the time:

“So, how negotiable are you on price?”

“Well, everything’s negotiable!” (often said with an impish smile)

You’re already in trouble here!

Instead, try restating the whole package, to reinforce what the buyer is getting, and to start them thinking about things other than price.

I use “To recap, we’re talking about a post on the site which will showcase your business, ten 250 by 250 graphic adverts on ten relevant pages, and we’ll send you a monthly report showing views and clicks. The price is €30 a month, paid three monthly in advance, and there’s a minimum three month contract length. I think that’s good value already, don’t you?”

At this point, you’d be amazed how many cave, using the classic “It doesn’t hurt to ask, does it?”

Some, however, will press on and tell you they still want a deal…..

Negotiate the variables

To start with, always negotiate the variables. Anything but the price! Can you give them a larger advert? On more pages? Reduce the contract? Reduce the advance payments?

Most buyers are simply seeking some kind of deal – it’s almost a game. And many will agree at this point to a simple negotiation on a variable. You may end up giving a little more, but you’re still getting the payment you wanted.

Some, will insist on a price discount…..

Trade concessions

With a buyer who insists on a cash discount, always seek to trade that for something else. If the buyer will only pay €25 a month for your advert, then tell them you can do that (assuming you can), but only for a six month term, or a bigger advance payment.

You can even start to take things away in return for the discount. “I can do it at €25 a month, but I can’t give you the monthly report, as it takes time to compile that for you.”

With a few exceptions, you’ll conclude the deal at this point.

But there’s always one who pushes a little harder….

Deadlock

Sometimes you can reach a deadlock, with the buyer insisting on a deal you simply don’t want to take. If that’s the case, be brave and tell them straight.

But don’t burn your bridges – be honest about it. “I simply can’t do that, I am in business to make a fair profit, and at that price I don’t, so I’m sorry – I really wanted to do business with you, and we’ve both put time into this, but I can’t see a way forward.”

I have to be honest that I’ve only ever got that far once, and the buyer didn’t cave as I thought he might.

But you have to draw the line somewhere. I’ve seen too many businesses struggle by being very busy all the time, but not actually making any money.

I took me years to understand what he meant, but my Dad once told me “Your end of year, bottom line profit is more often a result of the deals you don’t do, than the ones you actually do.”

Have you got any interesting tips or stories on negotiation to add?

Some other posts you may enjoy:

1/ How to launch your first digital product

2/ Why you have to become a better writer

3/ Eight ways to get more page views