Avoid Lowballing and Avoid Getting Lowballed

Getting lowballed is when you get a low offer.

It’s not just a typical low offer that people start off with before they give the real offer.

A lowball offer is disrespectful.

Imagine you are interviewing for a job.

Everything is going well.

You have been in the industry for 20 years!

You’re hoping to get paid like a veteran.

When it comes time to discuss salaries, the interviewer looks at you with a straight face and says:

‘We can give you $40,000 per year.’

$40,000?

Is this for real?

What a joke!!

That’s a lowball offer because you feel disrespected.

Why People Lowball

People lowball for a variety of reasons.

One reason is to see what they can get away with.

I’m not trying to be racist or discriminatory, but certain groups will always look for a deal.

That’s a part of their culture.

If they paid the full price, their parents or spouse will say:

‘You got ripped off!’

These people always try to see what they can get away with.

Another reason people lowball is because they are strapped for cash.

I used to lowball my virtual assistant when I first started ArmaniTalks.

I was burning through my savings account, was barely making any money, and had other bills to pay.

I’d ask for as many deals as possible.

Luckily, this guy believed in me, so he stuck it out.

Nowadays, I pay him well.

But back then, I had to lowball because I didn’t have many funds.

And the other popular reason people lowball is because they are ignorant.

They have no clue how much the project is really supposed to cost.

When I first moved into my new house, there were no blinds.

I thought setting up the blinds was going to cost 500 dollars.

When I interviewed people on Thumbtack, I told them I’d pay 500 dollars in total.

They thought I was joking.

They said:

‘Sir, it will cost at least 650 dollars to get the blinds. The labor will be 500 dollars. Your full project will be over 1000 dollars for sure.’

I thought they were joking.

I interviewed more people.

The more people I interviewed, the more I realized how ~$1000 was a fair price.

How to Stop Getting Lowballed

To stop getting lowballed, you need knowledge and courage.

It’s easier to have courage when you have knowledge.

When I knew the standard price that a handyman charged to install blinds, I knew when someone was taking advantage of me.

The worst time to think of your desired salary is when someone asks you:

‘What is your desired salary?’

Think about this beforehand!

• Do your research.
• What do other people in the field get paid?
• Does your experience warrant a similar pay?
• Why or why not?

Make a compelling case.

Also, don’t only look at what you’ll be getting paid.

Look at what other people in the company get paid too.

If it’s a smaller company, then they will offer less than a Fortune 500 company.

Your experience levels don’t matter as much as their available funds.

I saw an article recently that was titled:

‘I accepted a lowball offer! What do I do now?’

Why did you accept it for?

I doubt he did his research…

Let’s say he did his research but panicked and accepted the lowball offer…

Then he needs to work on the second variable, courage.

Courage is a muscle.

Courage is built in silence.

When people throw out an offer, you don’t have to accept immediately.

Be silent if they throw out a number way below your expectations.

During the silence, you will regain your composure.

You control the time, not them!!

Smile during the silence so it doesn’t feel awkward.

After a 2-second pause, say:

‘I’m sorry sir, that’s lower than I was expecting.’

Then make a compelling case for why you should get paid more.

Avoid Lowballing Others

There will be times when you have to lowball.

Unfortunately, there is no way around this.

You just lack the funds.

Dark truth:

• Lowballing others will lead you to a great deal.

Recently, I needed my lawn cut.

I hit up a few lawn mowing companies and they all said:

‘We will cut your lawn for $150 a month.’

That’s a lot!

I tried to negotiate it down to $65, but they wouldn’t have it.

I was adamant that I didn’t want to pay $150.

So, I kept hitting up more lawn companies.

Eventually, a group told me they’d do it for 75 bucks.

That worked for me.

I don’t think lowballing others is always bad.

You can always find great deals when you lead with a lowball mentality.

Just know when to turn that lowball mentality off.

Otherwise, you will lose the deal.

You want to be less risky when you don’t have too many options.

For example.

Your budget to buy a house is $350,000.

The seller is selling the house for $365,000.

Within a few months, the seller lowers the house price to $355,000.

You negotiate the offer.

They are willing to drop it down to $353,000 max.

If you push your luck and lowball with $345,000 dollars, then they’d feel insulted, and negotiations will end.

Avoid lowballing when you lack options.

I lowballed the lawn mowing companies because there were many other companies.

One Person’s Lowball Offer is Another Person’s Great Offer

Everything is more competitive nowadays.

Just because $40,000 is low for you doesn’t mean it is low for someone else.

Others will gladly swoop in and take the $40,000 offer.

That’s why the economy and immigration laws are intertwined.

When you are born and raised in the US, you want to be compensated one way vs someone who is moving from a 3rd world country.

For them, any amount in USD is viewed as gold.

Seeing the broader picture will help you remain objective when negotiating.

To avoid getting lowballed, have knowledge and courage.

To avoid lowballing others, be realistic about how many options you have to fall back on.

For more strategies in negotiation, check out the Synergy book

👥Ebook

👥Paperback/Kindle

👥Audiobook

– ArmaniTalks