Selecting a cell phone plan is confusingly hectic if you don’t know how to negotiate with the plan providers. Network companies train their salespeople to trap you by selecting the most expensive contracts because it’s easy money for them. For some customers, the contract ends up being a win-win deal, but it’s not the same for everyone.
Remember that a sales job usually runs on commissions from the deals closed by a salesperson. So, never walk away if you don’t reach a fair deal. The salesperson will be more inclined to strike a deal if you threaten them to cancel their service once and for all. Losing a customer is always bad news for them, and they will probably agree to offering a low-cost plan rather than losing a customer and risking their job.
This article includes a few tips you can use to negotiate a cell phone plan that suits your needs. Read and select wisely!
Check for Competing Offers Beforehand
The best way to extract a good deal from your network provider is to collect knowledge about certain facts that you can later use for your advantage. This includes checking for products, services, and cell phone plans your network’s competitors offer. Another important thing to look for is customer reviews about your network and its competitors. The next thing is to write down all the best deals in order to have a fair comparison so that you can select the best cell phone plan as per your desire.
You can use multiple ways to collect information about various cell phone plans in the market. Mobile companies offer contracts and phones in a number of ways – via pamphlets, in stores, and online. Don’t forget to check their online pages to compare their plans with yours. If you aren’t convinced through websites, visit their stores in your vicinity.
Must read: Best Mobile Phone Networks in the UK
Stay Aware of Latest Discounts and Offers
It’s easy to get trapped in buying an expensive contract if you go for a hasty deal, such as same-day discounts. You must be aware of all the offers and promos, their prices, and what they offer. Moreover, you should call their customer representatives to figure out how they treat and facilitate their customers. This way, you can easily segregate the best plan out of your comparison list and select the one which suits you best.
Instead of signing a one-year or two-year contract, go for monthly deals as they’re low on budget and offer more value for their price.
Consider Prepaid Plans too
Most of us overlook prepaid cell phone plans when negotiating a contract with our network provider. However, prepaid cell phone plans are cheap and competitive. Many prepaid service providers are directly affiliated with the major networks, which makes their operating costs much lower than their parent network. That’s why the deals they offer are quite cheap compared to the major networks.
For example, in the UK, Talk Home offers the best prepaid monthly plans in terms of calling minutes and internet data. This network is affiliated with EE – one of the UK’s oldest and largest mobile networks. You can also check the best international calling plans in the UK here.
Empathy Can Make You Win
A common tactic used by most network providers is to build trust in their customers. Their representatives are trained to make their customers feel like they’re having a casual conversation with an old pal. The psychological effect of this empathizing tactic compels the customer to buy whatever contract they’ve been offered.
However, you can cleverly reverse the whole script against the sales representative. You should be the one to gain their attention by showing empathy to them. Start by asking questions about their day and how they’re feeling. Show your interest in them, but don’t be over-familiar. Let them feel your empathy about their day-to-day struggles in life.
Your empathy and kind behavior can make you achieve big, especially if you’re trying to get your cell phone bill reduced. Even if you don’t succeed in getting a discounted plan, it’s highly likely that you’ll get to know when’s the right time to call for a discounted plan.
Audit Your Current Bill to Know What You Don’t Need
Even while setting up auto-pay for your monthly mobile bill is easy, it’s often a smart option to inspect your bills in order to ensure you’re not paying for things you don’t use. Upgrade to a plan that closely suits your requirements if you aren’t utilizing all your minutes every month daily to save money.
Examine your monthly consumption statistics to see how much of your monthly data plan and text messages are being used. If you’re not close to using up all your monthly minutes, talk to your cellular operator about other alternative plans.
Determine Whether You Qualify for Any Employer Discounts
Many companies make arrangements with major network providers to craft discounted plans exclusively for their employees. Thousands of businesses around the world are providing huge employee discounts to facilitate their employees in return for better productivity, but surprisingly, they don’t advertise it.
Moreover, these exclusive discounts are also offered to students and service members. So, if you’re enrolled as a student, a serviceman, or working for the government or any other reputable company, you must check whether you’re eligible for this discount.
You might be a customer of the same network for years and not have any clue about such discounts unless you inquire. Therefore, research is the key.
Conclusion
It would not be surprising if, by following these tips, you walk away from purchasing your next cell phone plan way lower than any other normal customer. All the expensive cell phone plans can be free or very cheap if the customer representatives are willing to give you discounts. All you need to do is try for once. Even if you’re not successful in getting the deal of your choice, you’ve got nothing to lose. You can just come another day or try any other network.
Besides the tips mentioned above, you can also ask the representative to connect you with the retention department and demand more discounts on your current cell phone plan. If the salesperson offers you an unacceptable discount, just hang up the call and try again. Since the call will be directed to their call center, you won’t get the same agent again. Probably, the new agent might offer you a more flexible plan.
