The Ten Commandments

1. Always ask for more. It is a legitimate tactic to use 'The Shocker' with the opening offer. Remember to have clear reasons for the opening price. Those reasons must have credibility, they must be appear to be legitimate.

2. Never say yes first time and never accept the first counter-offer.

3. Don't succumb to price rot - remember, it's a buyer's job to challenge all prices. It's the seller's job to ask for profitable prices. Don't forget that the whole of the free market economy is geared to have a downward-pressurising impact on price. For buyer and seller the rule is the same: don't succumb.

4. Don't give away at the start that your position is negotiable. If you use the phrase 'It is negotiable' - you have written the buyer a blank cheque. It means you have already given away money. We should never do it.

5. If concession is necessary, trade reluctantly, and slowly.

6. Don't ever change price without changing proposal. When bargaining, use the magic phrase 'If you... then we...' Ensure that you have a list of all your negotiable variables. Have at hand what can be changed and what its cost to you is.

7. Watch bargaining activity just before a deadline. If you imposed the deadline yourself, get higher authority to change it, if it becomes damaging to your negotiation. Always try to find your counterpart's deadlines or pressure points. Ask them what time constraints they are under. And use that information to build your authority.

8. Avoid careless or unnecessary tough phrases. It may well produce intransigence in your counterpart.

9. Stop seeing price as the primary issue. One of my friends is senior manager in a leading international forklift truck company. On one occasion he was responsible for a launch event. He negotiated a significantly lower price from one supplier - particularly compared to the other competitors. In doing so he forced the supplier to cut corners, which seriously jeopardised the success of the event. It incurred other costs that he had to recover. He said to me that the key lesson for him was learning to recognise when you are forcing a supplier to compromise quality, simply to appease a price requirement. In his words, 'It is not always defeat to yield on price. In fact the reverse can be true!' It is important to remember that all the variables in and around the deal can be used to improve it. The danger for buyers is to try intuitively to give the seller tunnel vision that sees the price and little else. Avoid it. Keep looking at all the ingredients of the deal and keep the focus off price.

10. Keep a sense of humour. If you carry on too long and too intensely, the thing sours and one party will leave feeling that it has been a negative experience. Ultimately we are looking for agreement. Lighten the atmosphere, so that it does not become heavy. If you can't express normal humour in the process, you will not be as effective as you can be.