1. Always ask for a discount
This is rule number one, and it costs nothing. The first price you are offered is almost always a “starting” price, designed to leave room for negotiation. If you don’t ask, you will simply pay full price. Ask politely but clearly: “What is your best price?”, then leave a short silence. You will often be surprised by the answer.
2. Put yourself in the seller’s shoes
The salesperson across the table has one goal: to sell their space at the highest possible price. That is their job, and it is normal. But they also have constraints: a monthly target to hit, slots to fill, a client who has just cancelled. Understanding what drives them helps you find the right argument, and spot the moment when they, too, have an interest in closing.
3. Is the medium open to big discounts?
Not all media are negotiated the same way. Print advertising, for example, has no truly tangible price: an empty page on press day earns the publisher nothing, so a page sold for less is always better than nothing. The same logic applies to unsold billboard sites and some local radio stations. Auction-based digital platforms (Google Ads, social media), on the other hand, set their price automatically: there, you optimise your campaigns rather than negotiate a rate.
- Print, magazines, guidebooks: plenty of room to negotiate.
- Billboards and radio: frequent discounts, especially off-season or over several bursts.
- Auction-based digital: no discount, but real leverage through targeting and settings.
4. What is your deadline?
Having time means having power. If you plan your campaign well in advance, you can compare, play competitors off against each other and let the seller come back to you. If you absolutely must run next week, they hold the cards. So plan your buying ahead, and bear in mind that last-minute offers can also be a bargain… if you are flexible on dates and placements.
5. Can the results really be verified?
Before signing, ask yourself how you will know whether the ad worked. Copies actually distributed, measured audience, number of clicks or calls: some media are very transparent, others much less so. Ask for proof whenever possible, set up your own tracking tools (promo code, dedicated link, specific phone number) and don’t hesitate to use a lack of measurement as an argument for a better price.
In short
Ask, understand the person you are dealing with, know the real value of the medium, take your time and check the results. It isn’t penny-pinching: it is simply making every euro of your budget work as hard as possible.
