There are many times in life that you need to negotiate deals. When you are accepting a job offer would be a time that you might try to get a higher salary. When you are getting a car and have been there for 18 hours you might try to squeeze an extra five bucks out of the dealer. What about buying a house? Oh my goodness, if they don't replace the carpet and lamanent flooring the deal is going to fall through. Another moment in your life that you have to negotiate a good deal is when you are making a fantasy football trade. It is crucial you know how to negotiate and get fair value in return. Please don't be the guy that trades Tampa Special Teams for Tom Brady. Don't start panicking, I will give you a couple of tips on how to avoid being that guy, or gal (hey girls are playing too)!
Alright, so your cell phone rings at 10:30 on a Thursday night and you are in the middle of watching Glee with your wife (hey we all need to earn extra credit with the wife). You look down and notice that it is a buddy of yours from one of your fantasy football leagues, remember we all have multiple leagues that we are apart of. If you aren't in at least two leagues it will be harder for you to understand the rest of the article. Anyway, you answer the phone and the conversation goes something like this. You, "Hey buddy how ya doing?" Him, "Oh, I'm doing good. Just hanging out with the wife, you know, watching Grey's Anatomy (remember extra credit). What are you up to?" You, "You know, watching Sportscenter." Now that you haven't admitted to watching a show with your wife you have the position of power. Don't lose it.
Him, "Hey I was wondering. You know I'm 1-1 (all fantasy football owners overreact by the end of week 2 and look to make a trade) and I was thinking about seeing if you were interested in working out some kind of trade?" You, "Sure, but I kind of like my team right now (again, maintain the aura of power) and I'm not sure that I want to shake things up." Him, "Oh, OK, well I'll let you go relax then." You, "Well, why we're on the phone, what did you have in mind?" Him, "Um, I have a lot of running backs, but I'm not too crazy about my receivers and I noticed that you have a lot of receivers and not so many running backs. What do you think about Julius Jones for Reggie Wayne?" You (after five minutes of laughing) "I needed a good laugh, thanks. But seriously, If you want Reggie Wayne, I'm going to need Frank Gore." Him (after making fun of you, the trade proposal and your Mom) "Yea, I don't think I like that trade either.
45 minutes of trade proposal after trade proposal, 100 Mom jokes and 3 hang-ups later....
You, "OK, finally we have a deal right?" Him, "Yea, I think so. So let me get this straight. I'm giving you Frank Gore in exchange for Brandon Stokley?" You, "Yea, let me think about it for a sec (you want to make him think that you are not royally screwing him and that the deal is causing you some kind of anguish). OK, I'll do it." Now is your cue to get off the phone as fast as you can. Don't keep chatting, don't engage in small talk. It's OK for you to even fake that your cell phone signal is fading. Your main objective is to get the comish of the league on the phone right away. It's like buying a car. You don't want the buyer to have anymore cooling off time than necessary.
Well, that's it. Let's review what we have learned today. First, always keep a position of power. Next, always make the first offer, again position of power. Finally, when the deal is greatly in your favor, get the guy off the phone as fast as you can and make the call to seal the deal. Oh yea, one other thing. Don't be the guy getting screwed!
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