their are several keys to developing strong negotiation skills. primarily, never be afraid to walk away from a deal. in other words, if you find yourself falling in love with a car, house, boat, whatever, you will tend to overpay. and believe me, sellers will sense when you are falling in love and love can be expensive! therefore, act as if you could care less if he/she accepts your low-ball offer. be willing to walk away if he/she turns you down.

in addition, there is nothing like a desperate seller. someone who is closing a business, in the middle of a divorce, etc. may be strongly motivated to accept a low-ball offer. all business is negotiation. so what if a seller laughs at your low ball offer? if he/she balks, and you want to pursue it, ask them what price they would consider reasonable?

for instance, asking price for a car is $15,000. you offer $10,000. seller balks, you counter: "Well then, what might be an acceptable price?" Seller counter offers $12,500. you counter with $11,000. Seller says he will sell for $12,000 even. at that point you either accept the offer or reject. if you accept you just saved yourself $3,000, not bad for uttering a few sentences.

also, look the man/woman dead in the eye when negotiating, they need to know you are confident. when you make the offer, SHUT UP....first man to talk loses. silence is uncomfortable....that is what you want, to make the seller uncomfortable enough to lower his selling price.