“Take Me Out to the Ballgame…”
Summer is here and fans are piling into the ballpark; some paying hefty fees for tickets and others not. And this is the point of today’s blog – negotiating tickets with scalpers.
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Coming from a sales profession, I LOVE watching the scalpers in action! They look so self important literally running up and down the street, across from the stadium, with cell phones and walkie talkies to find “deals” for their clientele.
Given it is illegal to “sell” tickets near the stadium, they cleverly hold up signs stating, “Need tickets” to attract those who know how to read between the lines. This is an essential skill when it comes to sales.
As a buyer you have options. You may purchase tickets from the scalpers at top price before the game starts. Or, you may choose to wait until the middle of the first inning to negotiate the price.
Negotiating the ticket price is the fun part for me. In fact, i find it more fun than actually watching the game unless we are talking World Series. And that is key for me as the buyer; the tickets hold no value so they can never over-sell me on the dollar amount.
Once the game has begun, and I’m approached, I state I want cheap tickets. On the first attempt, the tickets will still be too expensive. As with any negotiation, patience is requried. I politely remind them that I need cheap tickets. Sometimes it takes 2-3 tries, but usually before the second inning, we are in the ballpark enjoying the game at the price we prefer to pay.
And don’t think for a moment the scalpers lost money; they didn’t. They made huge profit off of the early buyers. Their biggest fear is being stuck with leftover tickets. Through negotiation we both find a staisfactory dollar amount thereby making it a win for all concerned.
Missing half an inning to get the price, isn’t a big deal and the rest of the game is ours to enjoy, making for a Smooth Sale!
Read Addtional Strategies and Techniques:
Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results, Sourcebooks
HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews, Career Press
