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Negotiation

 

Great Communicaiton Skills are essential to mastering the Art of Negotiation.  Everything inside the dynamic of a sale is negotiable.  Keep in mind that the finest sale is one where both sides are happy and satisfied walking away.

 

 

BEFORE you make your sales call - during your precall planning - consider all of those things your client might ask for and all of those areas where you might be willing to make concessions.  Last consideration should be price.  You can negotiate payment terms, quanities to be purchased, shipping details, etc.

 

Forget the old - "We will make it up on quanity" lie.   Don't kid yourself - That never happens.  If your selling at a loss, you will just lose more.

 

ANY concessions on your part need to come out very slowly and be visibly painful to you when the client asks.  If they think that whatever they are asking for is something you could have automatically offered and didn't, your client relationship will be damaged.  Your client could be well trained in the art of trying to find the best deal and that includes asking for everything.  Make it hard for them to get anything out of you - even the things that are easy for you to give away.  Teach them that you give them the best deal all the time and there isn't any room for negotiation (even if there is).

 

We teach people how to treat us.  IF you do plan to conceed and make a change, make sure you get something (anything) in return.  Nothing comes for free.  Consider what your client could additionally do for you.  Could they buy twice as much?  Could they take a product of lesser quality that you make a larger margin on?  Could they buy more often or take business from a competitor and give it to you?  Could they make a key introduction to a seperate division or organization that could buy your products??

 

Don't be afraid to ask for concessions on their part and never be afraid to walk away initially.  You can always  come back to the table with your concession and explain how hard it was to get that accomplished on their behalf (only because they are such an important client, of course).  If you od plan on leaving and coming back another day, make sure you have set the stage to return.  It could be as easily as telling your client that you know there is a major meeting at headquarters to discuss what they are asking about in the coming weeks.  Once management has made a decision, you will reach out to them immediately.

 

A lot of things could be true in that discussion.  There could be a meeting (unlikely).  You know you plan to give them what they are asking for but you need time to figure out what you could ask them for.  You know you will never be able to give them what they want but you want to let them know that their request was seriously considered and not rejected out of hand.  Your buying time to see how you might be able to re-direct them or incentivize them in a different way.

 

Negotiation can be very empowering.  There have been plenty of times when I negotiated in good faith, earned the business and then used the concessions made to insure that I kept the business!