The Concession That Costs You Nothing
Why this matters
The smartest concession in any negotiation is the one that means a lot to the other side and almost nothing to you. Every deal has these asymmetries hiding in it, and the negotiators who find them close deals that feel generous while giving up little of real value. Tradespeople who do not look for them end up cutting price, the one concession that costs the most, when a cheaper give would have sealed it. This is how to find the low-cost, high-value concessions and trade them well.
The core idea: value is not symmetric
What is cheap for you to give is often expensive for the other side to get, and the reverse. A negotiation is a search for those mismatches, not a tug-of-war over one number.
- A longer payment window costs a healthy supplier little but eases your whole month.
- An off-peak appointment costs you little to schedule but lets a customer hit their budget.
- A flexible start date may be worthless to you and a deal-maker for someone juggling their own timeline.
Before you reach for a price cut, ask: what could I give that they value highly but that barely costs me?
A field key to low-cost concessions
These are the concessions that tend to be cheap to give and valuable to receive. Reach for these before you touch price.
| Concession | Cost to you | Value to them |
|---|---|---|
| Flexible scheduling / off-peak timing | Low (fills slow time) | High (fits their constraint or budget) |
| Faster or larger deposit accepted | None (improves your cash) | Moderate (shows commitment, locks the deal) |
| A small add-on or upgrade you already stock | Low (marginal cost) | High (feels like a gift) |
| Longer warranty or follow-up check-in | Low if your work is solid | High (peace of mind) |
| Priority or expedited service | Low (a scheduling choice) | High (urgency relief) |
| Payment terms or a payment plan | Low if they are reliable | High (eases their cash) |
| A referral or testimonial you ask for | None (it is a get for you) | n/a (this is what you receive) |
The pattern: time, terms, and small extras are usually cheap to give and land big. Price is the expensive one, so spend it last.
How to find the asymmetry
You cannot trade a low-cost concession you have not identified. Hunt for them before and during the conversation.
- Ask what matters most to them. "What is most important to you here, the timeline, the budget, the warranty?" Their answer points you straight at the concession that will move them.
- List your cheap gives in advance. Walk in knowing which concessions cost you little, so you reach for those under pressure instead of defaulting to a discount.
- Listen for the real constraint. Often the price objection is a stand-in for a timing or cash-flow problem. Solve the real constraint with a cheap give and the price objection evaporates.
Trade them, never give them away
A low-cost concession is still a chip. Getting something back for it makes the deal hold and stops the other side from simply pocketing it and pushing for more.
- Attach a get to every give. "I can include the follow-up check if we lock the deposit today." Now your cheap concession bought a real commitment.
- Make them feel the value. Name what you are giving so it registers. A concession the other side does not notice does no work. "I am going to throw in the extended check-in, that normally is not part of this."
- Move in shrinking steps. Even cheap concessions should not gush out. Spacing them and shrinking them signals you are near your limit and keeps each one feeling earned.
What not to do
- Do not lead with price. The instinct to discount first burns the most expensive chip on the table when a cheaper one would have worked. Price is the last lever, not the first.
- Do not give a concession that is cheap to you but worthless to them. A "free" extra they do not want is not a concession, it is noise. Match the give to what they actually value.
- Do not concede so freely that you train them to push. Even low-cost gives, handed over instantly, teach the other side that pushing works. Trade them deliberately.
The mental model to keep
Look for the concession that costs you nothing and means everything to them: flexible timing, better terms, a small extra, a longer check-in. Spend those before you ever spend price, attach a get to every give, and make sure the other side feels the value. The negotiator who trades cheap-to-give, high-to-receive concessions closes deals that feel generous, protects margin, and ends up with terms both sides are happy to keep.
References
- See related: Negotiation Basics for Tradespeople
- See related: The Customer Wants a Discount: The Trade
- See related: Negotiating Scope, Not Just Price
- Trade-standard practice on concession trading and value asymmetry in negotiation