Negotiation Guide

Negotiation is your opportunity to demonstrate your commitment (and your company’s) to a long-term relationship and to maximizing value for both parties (for those who sell to businesses, value is synonymous with return-on-investment).

Sales negotiation can be a formal event (at a specific time and date) or it can be an ongoing theme at different points in the sales process. It’s beyond price and includes the entire value proposition.

As a professional you’re seeking a mutually beneficial relationship with your prospects and customers (not something that benefits only you or them). Practiced and applied, negotiation skills can increase the level of trust and credibility you and your company have with your prospects and customers.

The negotiation guide below provides you and your team with a quick overview for your next potential negotiation with a prospect or customer. Use what fits for your particular sales world and toss what doesn’t.

And remember… Your success depends more on your pre-negotiation preparation than on the negotiation moment(s) itself.

Nothing fancy. Just the fundamentals… done well.

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Your negotiation guide

Before negotiating begins

• Avoid negotiating unless you’ve had an opportunity to fully present your value proposition
• Understand the objections raised up to this point in the sales process and identify what your prospect’s or customer’s hot buttons (main points of interest) may be based on these objections
• Be prepared to illustrate how your offering will be used by them and quantify the value they’ll get
• Be certain you’re working with a person who has the authority to negotiate and make decisions
• Adopt the right negotiating attitude
• Be confident in the value your product or service will return
• Be prepared to be patient (which can lead to higher trust)
• Be prepared to work toward a solution that works for everyone (really)
• Know in advance at what point the agreement is no longer beneficial to you and your company and be prepared to walk away

During negotiation

• Use open-ended questions to confirm your understanding of their needs
• State your understanding of how the prospect or customer will benefit from your product or service – confirm this is accurate by asking
• Be prepared for tactical responses from prospects and customers – whether it’s the flinch following your price quote or silence – don’t react and instead respond with more questions
• Listen
• Don’t rush to fill pauses – be comfortable with moments of silence
• Be prepared to change the value proposition to support price concessions – support your price integrity by adjusting the overall value (e.g., change delivery times, follow-up schedules, service period, etc.)
• Try to identify agreement on small items to help develop positive momentum – summarize these agreements periodically
• Take notes to demonstrate your commitment to the negotiation and to help you find opportunities to summarize the smaller agreements verbally with the prospect/ customer

After the negotiation

If agreement is reached…

• Summarize verbally and/or in writing the agreement for all appropriate parties
• Thank the customer/ prospect for their time and reinforce the purchase decision (without cliche)
• For your next negotiation, review the points that seemed to help move the negotiation process forward – study them, know them, use them

If no agreement is reached…

• Sincerely thank the prospect/ customer for their time and commitment to the process
• Avoid appearing annoyed or disappointed
• Give the prospect/ customer an “out” or an opening for them to come back to you and your company in the future (have this statement prepared)
• For your next negotiation, review the points that seemed to prevent the negotiation process from moving forward – study them, know them, and act accordingly