Negotiating with Tough Customers: Never Take "No!" for a Final Answer and Other Tactics to Win at the Bargaining Table

Negotiation is the middle ground between capitulation and stonewalling, a back-and-forth between two parties trying to reach agreement. If a price or other term is non-negotiable, there is no give and take, just "take it or leave it." You may think you are negotiating, but if the other side isn't playing, you aren't either.

Regardless of the industry, situation, or product, the two most common mistakes negotiators make are:

1. they give ground too easily, and;

2. they get nothing in return.

Whe...