Photo courtesy of rogerwp

Awhile back, the Life Hacker blog posted an articled entitled Reducing Your Bills by Just Asking. The post stated that:

“Negotiating with companies during an economic downturn can be surprisingly effective.”

I couldn’t agree with this more. Simply just asking for a discount is probably the most overlooked way to save money. As a businessman myself, I very often receive requests from prospective customers asking for a discount. I run a small computer courseware company and often, I will receive a request like, “Will you give a discount for a non-profit organization?” or “Do you offer discounts to government employees?”

My response usually is, “Sure. How does 15% sound?”

I think about it this way: which is preferable, an order for $1,020 or no order at all? I had someone call me one day and ask me: “I am checking out several courseware companies. Will you give us a discount?” Without even thinking, I offered my standard 15% discount. The customer placed the order right then and there. Now, he may have placed the order anyway…or he may not have.

During these economic times, I feel that companies will even be more willing to negotiate. Recently, I was contemplating joining a local health club. I made an e-mail inquiry and was quoted a $195 initiation charge and a $78 monthly membership fee. Just for grins, I e-mailed them back and said, “That’s a bit pricey. Do you offer any discounts?” The next day, I received an e-mail with a new quote: no initiation fee and $68 a month. I’m still thinking about it.

A friend of mine recently called her cable company and asked for a discount. They knocked off $20 off of her monthly bill. So don’t be afraid to ask for discounts from your cable company, health club, credit card company (you can often negotiate lower interest rates), local retailers, etc.

The worst thing they can do is to say is no….but they may say yes.
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