A review of Herb Cohen’s ‘You Can Negotiate Anything’
If you know that I dropped out of high school at 14, it will come as no surprise that I don’t read a ton of books. Make of that what you will, but there’s always been one exception: life skills-type books. Without a doubt the biggest payoff is this unassuming little book from 1982: You Can Negotiate Anything, by Herb Cohen*.
I first picked this up in the early 2000s and it’s saved/earned me tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars since.
Sure, there are some hopelessly dated references; but the principles are as true today as they were when this guy wore his wide-lapel suits to negotiate Olympic TV broadcasting rights with the Soviets (an actual story from the book).
I’m not going to attempt to recount all the lessons from the book (he does a much better job than I could, which is why he’s an author). What I am going to do is point out a few times that specific or general lessons from the book helped me.
‘Negotiate Anything’ means making the other party *want* to help you
Testing the waters – getting a discount on tools at Sears
Jesus I sound like a boomer already, is Sears still a thing?
One of the stories in his book is about walking into…probably Sears and asking the first person you see to give you a discount on an appliance or mattress or something. You’re unlikely to succeed, because that person has invested no time in the sale and has no “bond” with you, so to speak. But after discussion and cross-shopping and building that relationship a little bit, you might have better luck.
Seemed like a bullshit story to me; no hourly employee at a big retailer has the ability nor interest to give you discounts on things, especially when there’s no commission involved.
All the same, the week after reading the book I decided I’d try it out. I needed a tap & die set* for a car I was working on. I didn’t need anything fancy, maybe a 35pc set or something. The guy in the tool section showed me what they had in stock, which was only 100pc sets. I genuinely didn’t need one that big, and really did hope he could find a smaller set “in the back.” He could not, but he showed me where I could buy one online at their kiosk. Thing was…this car was in pieces in my driveway, I needed it now. I took a shot and asked if he’d be willing to give me a price break since they didn’t have the one I came in for.
Whaddya know, he did it! I forget the exact savings but it’s kind of irrelevant. What it taught me was that this little paperback book had some lessons if I’d make the effort.
‘Negotiate Anything’ means knowing the tricks of the trade.
Don’t Fall for the “Policy” – A Car Dealer’s Doc Fees are Arbitrary
He mentions how a tactic used by businesses is to have a ‘policy’ about certain costs. The example he gave was a suit retailer pointing to a sign that says “no free ties will be given when you purchase a suit.”
Of course that policy is just something the store created and imposed on itself, there’s no higher power dictating it. But we naturally accept a written, on-display policy like that as some kind of rule.
So the one and only time I’ve purchased a new car in my life, I chuckled when seemingly every window and door in the building had “$699 Documentation Fee is non-negotiable” written in big white letters.
Buying a car from a dealer is a nightmare and I hated it. The point of the story is that I noticed the trick; I was ready for it, and the dealer was caught off guard when I asked whether the policy was any more binding than the price they print and put on the windshield of the car. He chuckled, and waived the fee almost immediately. I had a friend that had bought a car from the same dealer, and he was incredulous that I’d gotten the fee taken off. Thanks, Herb!
‘Negotiate Anything’ means understanding the market value
I Owe a Portion of Every Dollar I’ve Earned to Herb Cohen
Every time I’ve been offered a salary for W2 work, an hourly rate for contract work, a price for a car I’m selling – I think about the lessons in this book.
It’s not as simple as ‘ask for a bunch of money!’ It’s about knowing the market value of your labor, your car, etc, and if at all possible, knowing what the other party can afford to pay while still benefitting.
If I can put a prospective employer over a barrel because I know their bill rates and I know they have 5 more days to fill a position before they lose the contract, I can absolutely bleed them dry and get every dollar of the rate, if not more. However, when the pressure is off you’ll be the first person out the door, and you can only do that so many times before people stop wanting to work with you.
The whole concept of mutual benefit (while still maximizing your own benefit) in a negotiation is a lesson he teaches well. It also ties into some of the more lofty ethical capitalism I’d like to write about in the future, but that’s a post for another day.
For now, I strongly encourage you to grab a copy of this book* if you can, and give it an honest read. I’ve bought copies for nieces and nephews over the years and while I’m not sure if they’ve ever read it, I feel it’s a valuable tool in your financial life. It’s an easy read and he manages to make the case while avoiding that early-80s Gordon Gekko* sleaze.
*these are amazon affiliate links. Theoretically I’ll get some amount of money if you buy the book from that link but I have no idea how much or how any of it works. I’ve purchased the book 3 times myself in addition to the copy I got for free. Here’s some info on how I do sponsored links.
What are some negotiations you did especially well (or poorly) on, and what made the difference in those?