In the world of negotiating, we all love the idea of getting to win-win. Walking away from our next sales negotiation with the feeling that not only did we get a great deal, but that we left the other side feeling the same way is every negotiator’s dream. It turns out that if this is how you want to have things turn out, then you’ve got to do some planning before the negotiations start in order to make it happen…
Getting A Better Price
Every sales negotiator wants to get a better price. If you ever want to have a hope of reaching a win-win outcome, then you’re going to have to come up with a way to make sure that you are able to get a better price than is initially offered by the other side of the table.
One of the best ways to make this happen is to take a look at just how much of something that you are either buying or selling. Once the other side has committed to either buying or selling what you are offering or interested in, the next step is to agree on just exactly how much of the item you are talking about. Smart negotiators know that by changing the amount that you are either willing to sell or to buy, you can often change the price.
In the end, it’s the total value of the deal, not the price of an individual item that really counts. Plan to play around with your quantities and see if this can lead to win-win.
More, More, More
All too often we Sales Negotiators can develop a bad case of tunnel vision. We go into a negotiation thinking that we know what we want to buy / sell and that’s that. If we run into a problem in getting what we want, then we can kiss any sort of win-win outcome goodbye.
What we need to take the time to teach ourselves to do is to step back from the negotiating table and look around for more items that we can add to the discussion. There’s no reason to restrict this negotiation to only one item. Let’s talk about anything and everything that can possibly lead both sides to a win-win outcome.
Shortening The Delivery
Often times when we are selling something, as sales negotiators we know that we are restricted from making too much of a change in the price because there is a built-in cost to simply making the product. This is something that just can’t be changed.
Or can it? Often times one of the greatest components of a product’s cost is the cost of holding on to the product after it has been manufactured and before it has been delivered to the customer. If the customer can help out in some way that will reduce storage costs, then all of a sudden you may have a great deal more flexibility in your negotiations.
The Cost Of Going
Once a product has been created, the manufacturer still has the challenge of how to get it into the customer’s hands. Any one of us who has bought something online only to discover that its price has doubled once we figure in shipping charges knows what I am talking about.
If the customer can become flexible in how the product reaches him, or for that matter if the customer can take over the delivery process, then this cost can be reduced. Once again, a reduction in this area can lead to significant increases in negotiating flexibility.
What All Of This Means For You
Walking away from a sales negotiation with a win-win solution that has been agreed to by both parties is the ultimate success story for any negotiator. This can be achieved with just a bit of pre-planning on your part.
Before the negotiations start, take some time to think though what your options are. Can you sell or buy more of the product in order to lower the price? Can you change the scope of the negotiations? Are there other parts of the deal such as storage or delivery that the customer can take over in order to reduce the costs?
The more that you are willing to put on a table with a customer, the more willing they will be to work with you in order to find a solution that is the best fit for both of you. The more times that you can do this, the closer to win-win agreements you’ll be able to get.
- Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World Negotiating Skills™
Question For You: Do you think that changing the specifications of what is being negotiated can help to close a deal?
Click here to get automatic updates when The Accidental Negotiator Blog is updated.
What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time
Every time we negotiate, we are entering into a new relationship. The one thing that we need to do before we start each negotiation is to figure out just exactly what type of relationship we want to enter into this time. Although this sounds like it’s an easy question, it turns out that finding the right answer can be a bit harder than it initially seems…
book came out, negotiators have been pursuing a mythical unicorn-like type of negotiation , one where everyone gets what they wants and walks away from the table happy.
