Tips to Save Money with Negotiation on the Bill Payments

A good budget is the right combination of essential and non-essential expenses, leaving aside savings for the long-term goals. Your primary focus remains on reducing the non-essential cost by cutting some amenities from life. However, many people enjoy the same lifestyle while increasing their savings with the help of bills negotiation.

It is the old-school strategy to convince the service provider to offer you some discount or special deal. You can leverage the existing relationship with them and save money. However, the strategy is not as simple as the service providers master the art of negotiation from their experience.

These are some tips to help you save money on the monthly bills with some negotiation and bargaining.

1. Set a Goal

Whatever the bill you target, you need to have a plan of action on carrying the negotiation. Start with the services you want from them. You may want to cut some services based on your current requirement as part of cutting the budget.

The customer representative will offer you the best plan if you have a clear idea of services. Research the market for the prices and deals to strong-arm the representative with a better price. You should convey the price constraint if you want the same set of services at a lower price.

2. Get an Offer from Competitors

The best way to ask for a lower price is to first get a better offer from the competitors. You will have some leverage in the negotiation as the current service provider will try harder to retain the client. These offers will act as a backup if the negotiation doesn’t go as planned.

There are certain charges involved with the installation and security deposits in services such as Wi-Fi and satellite television. Add them to the overall cost before comparing the plan. You can apply for doorstep loans in Ireland to cover the installation cost and save money in the long run.

3. Timing is Important

Only the senior representative or retention management has the authority to approve some significant discount on bills. Therefore, the negotiation needs to reach the upper management level to have better chances of success. And they don’t work 24*7 to answer calls from unsatisfied customers.

You must make the call during the weekdays between the office hours. These are generally 9 AM to 5 PM in any part of the world. Also, do not make negotiation call on weekends as the call volumes are too high.

4. Use Friendly Tone

A firm stand in the negotiation doesn’t require a jerky attitude from any of the parties involved. You need to ensure the tone is polite and friendly to make them understand your point. Calm yourself for the intimidating situation as the customer representative try to force a deal on you.

Say no to the offers you find unreasonable or below the expectations. They are doing their job to retain a client with minimal cost to the company. An emphatic behaviour will make them work with you to find a solution.

5. Explain the Situation

The service providers understand the financial problems of the customers as they are quite common. They don’t want to lose their valued customers over a small discount. Therefore, you can explain to them your condition, and they might turn out to be surprisingly helpful to it.

They might offer you payment extension over a small repayment. If not, you can apply for 24 hours loan in Ireland to manage the payments during a financial crisis. You will get a repayment extension with no extra charges if you cannot afford the instalment in any month.

6. Start with Cancellation Statement

Your negotiation should start with a statement with a definitive goal. “I want to cancel…” is the ideal communication starter during these kinds of conversation. Then you can state the reason for cancellation that is the higher service cost.

Ask for a lower price than you want once the conversation reaches the negotiation stage. It will take time to reach the middle ground, which should already be the price you had in mind. It is an age-old practice used to manage the negotiation.

7. Be Careful with the Words

Representatives are trained to manage the negotiation, especially the customers who want discounts. They have a script ready with answers to every question you might raise. Therefore, you cannot allow them to lead the negotiation with those scripts.

It is recommended to use power words such as “I want to save money” instead of offering the best price. Again, market research will help you find the price the service provider can permit after a lengthy discussion. Avoid words such as maybe, possibly, I think, or try as they show weak commitment.

8. Transfer Your Call to Retention Department

If the customer rep is not providing the right offer, ask them to transfer your call to the retention department. These are the people with authority to approve discounts to the customers only to retain them. They also provide a solution to the other problems considering the service quality.

9. Stop at the Right Time

An endless negotiation is a waste of time for everyone. You cannot expect them to accept your unrealistic price. Therefore, it is essential to know the moment when to end the negotiation.

There is no point in pushing the provider once they have a price that meets your expectations. They might offer the same price as the competitors but not lower than them. With the installation and other charges, it is better to retain them.

Conclusion

To sum up, you need to prepare yourself before dialling the number of your service provider. The negotiation is still a success if you end up paying a little more than the expectation.