Money Fix: The ABC's of negotiating a deal

It's New Year's resolution time, and what are yours this year? Lower expenses? Earn more? How about developing a skill to help do both, called interest-based negotiation, the subject of a talk Jan. 10 in Woodbury by Victoria Pynchon. She's a Los Angeles-based negotiation consultant, Forbes Woman blogger and author of a book subtitled "The Grownups' ABCs of Conflict Resolution." Here's a preview of her talk at the Long Island Center for Business and Professional Women.

Authority to deal: When you call companies asking for concessions or better deals, you're automatically directed to front-line people trained in ways to say no, many related to not being authorized to make deals. So ask for someone who does have authority, say, a supervisor or customer retention representative, who has more discretion. "The term 'customer retention' has saved me thousands of dollars," says Pynchon, most recently with replacing a lost iPhone.

Their interests: Determine the interests, needs, fears, desires of those with whom you're negotiating. That brings you to why he or she should want to grant your request, she says. Remind the person you're a good customer, his company spends a lot on attracting new customers, it's so easy to switch to the competition. Often when dealing with a huge corporation, consumers forget their own worth, she says.

Make 'yes' easy: Pynchon tells of a disappointing hotel stay where construction noise ruined a training class she was conducting by phone. As compensation, she suggested the front desk remove from her bill items she knew cost the hotel little - meals, movies - but represented a big savings to her. Sure enough, "they did," she says.