A second reason many people avoid negotiating is that they have been socialized not to do it. Children unabashedly ask for what they want, and nobody minds. Unlike adults, they have not been socialized not to ask for what they want. Another reason why people avoid negotiating is because they make invalid assumptions about what is or is not negotiable. What was not negotiable in the past may be now.
Technology alone brings about unparalleled change every day.
Flexibility and responsiveness are the precursors to long-term success. A prepared negotiator assumes everything is negotiable, and is flexible enough to respond when the negotiation process validates or invalidates assumptions. Renowned physicist, Albert Einstein, on a stroll with his teaching assistant in 1942, illustrates this point. But you see, the answers have changed. The answers are changing in your business too.