Closing the deal - whats your trick?

[Wizard]

"Second prize is a set of steak knives" (Name the movie if you can)

Do you have any "tricks" to close the deal? To get someone to bite on a trade offer?
Do you point out how what your offering will help him out?
How many points the players offered scored the prior year compared to their current team?
Lead them to believe there is someone else trying to get the same players in another deal?
Give them a deadline?

I can't tell you how often I have somebody waffle on whether they should take a deal, often never countering, they just seem to give up and bail. It's like they can't decide so they do nothing. I've also offered very good trades, trades that were very much in their favor and never got a response. Maybe so good they thought they were getting tricked somehow.

Do you have something you do to get them to take the plunge?

[joekuhns11]

1. Glengarry Ross

I try to talk up the player and express how he is weak in that spot and can afford to give up whatever it is you're asking. I also am very persistant, but that is because my league is very meh and doesn't like to make things happen on the spot. I also usually send out a dozen trades because one of them is likely to hit.

[bigbuck22]

I have found that the more I say, the more they become skeptical of my offer... it's the "used car salesman" trait. Guys in my league hate it. When I first started, they even called me out on it. I try to refrain from that sort of thing any more. Now, if I send a message it's "honest."
For example, "I have player A and C rated very close to each other. I thought since you have player A and B from the same team and I have player C and D from the same team, if you value A and C closely, we could swap to keep from doubling up."

Typically though, I just let guys do their own thinking.

[skip]

Do you have any "tricks" to close the deal? To get someone to bite on a trade offer?
Do you point out how what your offering will help him out?
How many points the players offered scored the prior year compared to their current team?
Lead them to believe there is someone else trying to get the same players in another deal?
Give them a deadline?

Make a fair (or more than fair) offer. If I don't have a good starting point on what to offer from my team, I will ask a general question about what they feel their needs are...i.e. a particular position or if they are interested in draft picks. As to some of your questions, I would never ever use them and find them a bit insulting, tbh.

My trade partner should NEVER be trying to convince me what he is offering is better for me than what I have. That is only for me to decide. This goes to talking about scoring as well. It's also a bit disingenuous since if the deal is so good for me then why is he taking the lesser part of the deal?

I also believe in honesty. I'm not going to lead someone on. I quit a sales job because my manager wanted me to do that..."There's someone in the next room..." and we step out of the office into an empty hallway and dark offices because I'm the last one there.

Not sure what good a deadline would be. So you set a deadline of 5pm today...because why? Do you plan to never trade the player based on that deadline? Are you planning a quadruple bypass in another country, expect the job to get botched and you will be stuck there for 6-8 months? What is the motivating factor behind providing a deadline. The only time this may come into play is a) I came to you about a player and b) you are actually in trade negotiations with someone else and you gave them a time by which you would give them an answer.

[Igwebuike 4 Prez]

No trick. A good deal speaks for itself. If you've been going back and forth, you both have an idea where your values are.

Trying to sell a deal is the quickest path to it falling through. When guys start quoting stats or telling me where I need help, I just move on. We all have access to the same info and we know where our teams need help.

[Lordchay]

Yeah I agree with most of what has already been said. The only time I do the selling is when I'm hanging out with the other owner over beers and we are talking about it. I have a guy in one of my leagues that is very heavy RB right now and I'm heavy WR. I'm currently trying to get him to make a trade involving his 1.01 and one of my elite WRs. I'll try to sell him a little over beers but only because we are tight like that and he knows I ultimately don't care which way he goes. It is just fun for us.

[Benny5]

Usually it's just honest takes on both sides. Team needs, and explaining your rationale if they think you're off base. "Hey man not sure if you're a fan of this guy, so I was thinking to offer you this for him, let me know" Usually they'll give you their opinion on him and that will let you know if you need to add a few things or if you even have a shot at landing them.

Generally, if the other owners aren't considering your trades and aren't responding... you likely are offering trades too far in your favor or not enough to sway them. If it's a player you truly want, you're likely going to have to pay more than you're willing to if everybody in your league has a hold pat mindset.

I'll usually every wk throw a "Hey guys, A B and C are available for futures or a WR3" or whoever just to see if anybody is wanting to be active. If somebody comes to me with an offer on a player I don't want to let go, I tell them I'm not keen on letting them go so they'll have to increase their offer. Opposite of that, if I'm going to another owner, I try to throw a relatively fair offer at them a little less than I'm willing to pay and then through dialogue I work more toward their wants. In my leagues there's some fairly active owners who hold great dialogue and work to complete trades, then there's a few who have no clue how to counter offer, and then there's a few who are just happy to sit on their team and not look to trade. As with in real life, figure out who you communicate with best and see if you can't help each other. If you fleece somebody, or the league knows you're always seeking to "win" trades, eventually your trade partner number will dwindle. In one of my leagues, one of the owners overvalues his team in trade talks but is the first to say his team stinks, thus, quite a few of us have labeled him as a guy nobody can really trade with. Be honest with yourself, and make sure you're not being that guy.

[Favrezilla]

I mean if you aren't "winning" the trade why make it? That doesn't mean getting the best value on every parameter.

I traded Marty ice and Alex smith last year to the eventual league champ for Carson Wentz and Shephard. I was out of it and also had mahommes and stafford. I think I won that trade by a large margin...?

[Goddard]

Throw in a set of steak knives to seal the deal.

[prinefan]

No trick. A good deal speaks for itself. If you've been going back and forth, you both have an idea where your values are.

Trying to sell a deal is the quickest path to it falling through. When guys start quoting stats or telling me where I need help, I just move on. We all have access to the same info and we know where our teams need help.

Nailed it. The more a guy tries to sell me, the less appetizing the deal becomes.

[Shoreline Steamers]

Glengarry Glen Ross- so I win the steak knives!

But in fantasy football, I'm often the guy who comes in "3rd Place" in my league so maybe I'm not the best source material.

I try to be open in my communication with the other owner. And in discussion I will generally let the other owner know why I'm making the offer. I try to craft win/win proposals based on roster make-up, and then let the chips fall. I think that often times when someone thinks they're getting a "sell job" it has more to do with differing player values. I may value someone highly that they don't like at all, so their reaction is that I'm trying to screw them over (also happens the other way around quite often).

But if you can have a healthy back-and-forth in negotiation a lot of times you can close the gap. Sometimes not so much. One thing I always do with any proposal I make is have a line in the sand with regard to how much I'm willing to give up. If that threshold is reached and a deal is still unworkable, I know it's time to move on.

[Easy Breesy]

I just point out the positives for both sides of the trade

[Swids19]

I try to make a fair trade offer for starters. Then I give my reasoning why I think it's a beneficial trade for both teams. I then ask if they share the same opinion? I ask this because I want to know if I am on the same thought page as other owner. Sometimes I am and through negotiationing we can get a deal done. And there are other times when the other GM has a totally different strategy than what I thought his team needs were, that we're not anywhere close to making a deal. I try to ask myself if I was in the other GM's shoes, would I accept or consider the offer being made.

No one likes being "sold" on why an offer is good for their team. And just because the other GM thinks it is a good offer, it doesn't mean that I do. Don't waste your time trying to get people to "pull the tigger" on a deal. If they can't decide if the offer is good for their team and make up their minds one way or the other, then they shouldn't be playing fantasy football. We all know if a trade is a good deal or not to make a decision on.

[snaps06]

Rule #1 for me when trying to make a deal: NEVER try to "sell" your player to your league mate. Any time someone tries to "sell" me on their player, I probably won't interact with them in any negotiations for a long time. When you try to "sell" your player to them, it comes off incredibly condescending and, TBH, the "seller" looks like a pushy d-bag know-it-all (to put it lightly).

Make an offer. If it's close, they'll counter. If it's good in their mind based upon their valuations, they'll accept. It's simple. Don't over think it or try to be tricky about it.

[spotxc]

know when to apply pressure, but the harder they see you try, the less they are to likely do it. Throw floaters, catch their interest, go in for the kill. If they don't fall, back off and repeat

Plus most important of all, now your owners and how they are, so you attack in ways that fit the owner

Annnd. don't get mad, or show frustration. Just keep moving