Hello, I am Desmond Whitfield and this is Walk Away Money, a show about negotiating for people who were never taught how. Today's lesson is the cheapest one I know, and it took me five years to learn it. When you name a price, stop talking. That is it. Most of us say the number and then, in the same breath, start explaining it, softening it, apologising for it. The other side hears all of that as room to move. I am going to tell you about three deals from my Chicago years, including a packaging supplier who dropped twelve percent because I counted to seven in my head and said nothing. We will also cover how silence works on the phone and in email, where you cannot see a face. It is uncomfortable. That is the point. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.