6 Strategies to Become a Better Sales Negotiator

6 Strategies to Become a Better Sales Negotiator:

Negotiating the terms of a deal can be complex and challenging. Buyers and decision makers are more knowledgeable, demanding and tougher to deal with. Sometimes negotiating with these individual’s feels like an uphill battle and an impossible task.

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Here are 6 strategies that will help you become a stronger, more effective sales negotiator.

1. Do your homework.

Before you enter any type of sales negotiation, you need to do your homework. While it is essential to ask questions to gain insight, it is equally important to ask the right questions so you can negotiate more effectively. Determine the information you need that will help you negotiate a better deal.

2. Listen more than you talk.

People will often give you clues and insights that will help you better position your solution or negotiate a better deal if you are paying attention. Instead of waiting for your turn to speak listen intently to other person. It sounds simple but it takes effort, energy and patience.

3. Learn to walk away.

Too many sales people lack the emotional ability to walk away from a potential sales opportunity. However, it is better to walk away from a sale rather than make too large a concession or give a deep discount your product or service. After attending my negotiating training workshops salespeople often tell me that this strategy gives them the most leverage when dealing with tough prospects and customers.

This can be challenging to do when you are in the midst of a sales slump or slow sales period. However, remember that there will always be someone to sell to especially if you keep your pipeline full.

4. Learn to use various tactics.

There are dozens of negotiating tactics including; the Flinch, the Trade-Off, Good Cop Bad Cop, the Red Herring, the Nibble. To become more effective at negotiating, you should learn to recognize each of the tactics when it is used. When you know what the other person is trying to do you can use the appropriate counter-tactic and achieve better results.

5. Resist the temptation to give in early.

Just because someone asks for a concession does not mean they expect to get it. Resist the temptation to give in too quickly. I once asked for a hefty discount on a pair of shoes hoping to get half of what I asked for. I was pleasantly surprised when the store owner agreed to my request. When you give in to a concession too quickly, you reduce the value of your product or solution, and set the expectation and standard for future negotiations

6. Practice.

This is the most important strategy. Negotiating is a skill and like any other skill it must be learned. Unfortunately, most people lack the confidence to negotiate.

Improve your personal confidence by negotiating as often as you can, including in your personal life. Develop the habit of asking for a price break when you buy from a retail store. Here are a few questions or statements you can use;

“You’ll have to do better than that.”

“What discount are you offering today?”

Be pleasant and persistent but not demanding. Condition yourself to negotiate at every opportunity and it will help you become more comfortable, confident and successful. I once worked with someone who negotiated everything so when he was dealing with aggressive customers, he knew how to respond and he was comfortable asking for concessions and saying no.

Learning how to negotiate not only drives more profit to your bottom line, it can make you a more confident and effective sales person. In turn, it will also increase the level of respect from your prospect’s and customers.