Every business is different, every industry is different. I found that establishing a personal connection, genuinely listening to the customer and putting an emphasis on strong communication is very helpful in getting the business. When you listen to the customer it's easier for you to understand what's most important to them in regards to the upcoming project you're negotiating, and than you can throw in an incentive handling that one little specific but very important element and that gets you closer to getting the deal. Simply giving more and more discounts is not a good system in my opinion. Yes, be competitive, but I think you lose credibility when you present an ability to do a service substantially less than what you bid to begin with.