Ramit Sethi walks through calling five companies you already use—cell phone, gym, cable, credit card, insurance—and negotiating lower fees. He shares a script that works about half the time on the first try, and up to 65% with escalation. Most people save over $1,000 a year.
I have a simple technique for you to use once a year and once a year only. That can save you well over a thousand dollars. You can do it on a Saturday afternoon. I'm gonna teach you how to do it right now. Here's how it works. Once a year, I'd like you to make phone calls to five companies that you already do business with. I'd like you to try to negotiate with them on their fees and their rates. I'd like you to tell them that you're a great customer and, and you'd hate to have to leave, but use one of my phrases that I'm going to teach you right now. And what can they do for you? Okay, it won't work with every company. It won't work every time, but when it does, your savings will be compounded because you're paying these companies monthly fees. So here are five companies and types of companies that you can call. And then I want to share the exact phrase that you can use with them. Five companies. Number one, your cell phone company, you can call them, you can negotiate those fees down. Number number two, your gym membership. This is less likely, but sometimes it works. Number three, cable. Easiest of all, cable companies hate Ramit Sethi because I've taught thousands and thousands of people how to negotiate their fees. When I go on tv, they truly hate me. Number four, credit card companies, another type of company that hates me because their fees, including their APRs, yes, even those get negotiated down using these techniques. And number five, insurance, especially car insurance. So here's how it works. Let's just pick one of these companies. Let's say, oh, I don't know, cable. You call them up and you say, listen, first of all, just wanted to confirm that you received my bill on time last month as usual. Oh, yes, sir. Yes, we did. Well, there's one other thing I'd like to discuss. You know, can you tell me from your end, how long have I been a customer? Oh, I don't know. Let me. I don't know, sir. Well, actually, I know from mine. It's actually been four and a half years. And one thing I noticed is, you know, times are really tough. I noticed that there's another company offering me a far better value than you're offering me right now. Now, here's the deal. You know, I have a long term relationship with your company. Four and a half years is a long time. I'd hate to have to switch just because of a simple money issue. So what can you do for me? Notice that I did not Say, do you think maybe you could lower your rates? Please, please. I'm like a beaten little boy. Please. No, I did not say that. I was very confident. I explained I've had a long term relationship. I did my homework because I knew exactly how long I'd been a customer. And then I pointed out that times are tough. A magical phrase that happens to be true and also happens to be highly effective. And I said, I'd hate to have to switch to another company because, you know, times are tough. Well, often two things will happen. One, they'll instantly give you a deal. In fact, this happens frequently. I would say right around 45 to 50% of the time, they'll say, well, as a matter of fact, sir, we actually have special offer. We can offer it to you for a year. $30 off. You just saved 300 plus dollars. On the other hand, sometimes they will not. They'll say, well, we can't do that. We can give you some marketing, blah, blah, blah. You say, you know what? How long have I been a customer? Ask them again. Now, surely you've got another deal that makes sense because this number is just too high. I just can't do it anymore. If they still persist, right then you'll edge yourself from 45 to 50% to maybe 65%. They still persist. Ask for their customer retention department. Those are the people who are empowered to be able to give you special deals. The point is, with just this one phone call, one phone call, you can be saving $350 a year. Okay, Very simple. You do the same thing for your insurance. You can even Google how to negotiate car insurance. You'll find an article I wrote with the exact script. But the point of all these is you emphasize this. Once a year, you call them up. I've been a customer for a long time. I'd hate to have to switch. What can you do for me? You're not begging, you're discussing. You're a confident, discerning customer. And they will make you a deal because they don't want to lose you over 10, 15 bucks. And they're more than happy to give you a little discount. Not always, but often. And that discount once a year can add up to well over $1,000. Many of my students have done it. I hope you do it too. And when you do, send me a little email and let me know how it worked for you. Thanks a lot, Sa.
