|
|
Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! |
|
I WANT A BETTER DEAL - TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!
Written by: Wayne BerryArticle Overview: I often hear sales people say to me, “Everything was going well, we’d been talking for weeks and then suddenly when I thought my prospect was ready to buy, they wanted to negotiate a better deal. I didn’t know what to do!” So what should they do? I am often asked if I have some kind of “Silver Bullet” cure to solve this problem. The truth is, there is no one simple answer to this question. A better question to ask is, “How do I avoid ending up with a situation like this?”
![]() |
Free Download - How sales professionals can use the iPad2 as a serious business tool By Wayne Berry |
I WANT A BETTER DEAL - TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!
Have you ever had a prospect or customer say this to you?
I often hear sales people say to me, “Everything was going well, we’d been talking for weeks and then suddenly when I thought my prospect was ready to buy, they wanted to negotiate a better deal. I didn’t know what to do!”
So what should they do?
I am often asked if I have some kind of “Silver Bullet” cure to solve this problem.
The truth is, there is no one simple answer to this question.
A better question to ask is, “How do I avoid ending up with a situation like this?”
You see this situation is NOT the negotiation.
It’s the end result of the negotiation. It’s the symptom, NOT the cause of the sales person’s dilemma.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all over for the sales person
This situation is NOT the negotiation. It’s the end result of the negotiation. It’s the symptom, NOT the cause of the sales person’s dilemma.
However it’s not all over for the sales person if they possess some good negotiating skills.
It’s not too late to salvage the situation.
A better strategy would have been to avoid getting into this situation in the first place.
The problem is most sales people do not understand that negotiating is a process, not an event.
I hear sales people say things like, “It was all going well for 2 hours until the end, and then the prospect wanted to negotiate.”
I’m sorry but I’ve got some bad news for you if you’ve ever felt this way.
The negotiation did NOT occur at the end of the 2 hours.
It began at the beginning of the interaction with the prospect, and if the prospect is a good negotiator, it actually began long before the prospect started talking with you.
Too many sales people fail to understand this, and end up with an event called “being pressured for a discount”. They think that this is the negotiation. It’s not. They been negotiating for 2 hours and just didn’t realise it!
So what can you do to avoid ending up as “Shark Bait”?
How do you avoid being forced into an unprofitable deal, or even losing the deal altogether?
Here are a few quick thoughts.
1. Learn about negotiating.
It doesn’t come naturally in our culture. It’s a skill that you should develop if you are serious about your career in sales. Not having these skills is costing you big time in lost sales, lost profits, lost commissions and lots of stress.
By the way, many of your prospects ARE developing these skills – ON PURPOSE. They are not just playing it by ear. That’s for amateurs.
Next important thing to do is...
2. Understand what’s happening
There are 6 stages in every negotiation. They are;
a. Preparation.
b. Rapport.
c. Gathering Information
d. Exploring Options
e. Trading Concessions
f. Nailing Down The Deal
We don’t have the space here for a full explanation of each of these phases, however realise that all negotiations involve these phases. They can take seconds, hours, days or months depending on the negotiation. Learn about them and understand what happens in each phase.
3. Know that you have more power than you think in every negotiation
The problem is most sales people think that their prospect has all of the power. That’s simply not true. There are more than 20 sources of power in most negotiations. Problem is if you don't know what they are, you will feel helpless. Find out about them. Next...
4. Beware of the ploys, gambits and dirty tricks
Negotiating is game. However it’s a game where a sales person can get hurt if they don’t understands the moves, the ploys, the gambits and the dirty tricks that people use. I teach sales people how to spot and counter more than 30 “popular” ones. If you don’t understand them, learn about them.
Sales people who understand negotiating don’t become “Shark Bait”. They write profitable business and enjoy success.
I received an email about a month ago from one of our clients in London...
John King is a graduate of one of my negotiating workshops and his company sells large scale manufacturing equipment in the UK and Europe.
John wrote in his email...
"Wayne we were getting murdered in deals where we were up against cheaper competitors. My sales people were slashing prices and our margins were suffering badly. We were going backwards fast. I remembered that negotiating game we played in your workshop and thought that's the answer. You probably didn't even know about it but I ordered a copy of your audio programme, “Get the best deal every time”. I wanted my sales people to learn the lesson that I learned that night.
Well I thought you might be interested to know that this decision has added more than $5 million good old Aussie dollars to our GP over this last 12 months. I sat my guys down and we went through each CD one at a time at our sales meetings and also they listened every day in their cars and at home. We developed some new strategies and used that 15 page check list of yours. Well you're right, negotiating skills make all the difference. When I think of all the dollars we gave away before my guys got "Top Gunned", I could cry. Thanks mate. I owe you a big beer."
I love getting emails like John's and his story will shortly join our collection of Inspiring Success Stories and Testimonials at our Web Site. You'll read another one there too from Michael Giuliano who tells how developing his selling skills through Top Gun has added more than $2 million to his earnings over the last 10 years.
Anyway the lesson is - get those negotiating skills!
I will be providing some more negotiating tips in another article. Anyway until we speak again...
Have a great week this week. Make it a great week!
Wayne Berry CSP*
Article Tags: bad news, dilemma, end result, interaction, negotiating skills, negotiation, negotiator, sales person, salvage, shark bait, silver bullet, simple answer, truth
|
About the Author: Wayne Berry RSS for Wayne's articles - Visit Wayne's website Wayne Berry CSP* is Australia's own TOP GUN Business Sales Coach and most in-demand speaker on sales, negotiating and Sales Management Training. He is ranked in the top 7% of professional speakers in the world by the USA based National Speakers Association. He is a best selling author and one of Australia's best known speakers. His four books, “Negotiating In The Age of Integrity”, “How To Get The Best Deal Every Time”, “How To Get The Best Sale Every Time” and “How To Lead and Motivate A TOP GUN Sales Team” are now sold in 13 countries. He speaks more than 200 times each year at conferences around Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and at programs arranged by his TOP GUN® Business Academy. This year his seminars and workshops will be attended by more than 20,000 sales and business people. He has also recorded more than 40 audio and DVD video programs on selling, sales management and negotiating. He has shared the platform with Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale, Dr Norman Vincent Peale, Dr Denis Waitley, James Rohn, and many, many other internationally renown speakers. Click here to visit Wayne's website Can you teach old sales dogs new tricks How To Make a Great First Impression CLOSING THE SALE ITS HIGHLY OVERRATED YOUR PRODUCT COSTS TOO MUCH Time Management Tips to get more every day |
Related Forum Posts
Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.
Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.
Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
The Right Job - Part Five 'Compensation'
12 Principles to Spark Innovation
Unspoken Yet Important Rules for Book Proposals
Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.



