Posts Tagged ‘sales negotiation’

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Hidden Needs Drive Sales Negotiations

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Hidden Needs Can Get 'Ya In Sales Negotiations <p> (c) - 2006 </p>

Hidden Needs Can Get 'Ya In Sales Negotiations (c) - 2006

All sales negotiations are driven by both public and private needs. If you can understand and deal with the other side’s hidden needs, then you’ll have more power during the negotiation.

It’s What Lies Below The Surface That Really Matters

When we enter into a sales negotiation, we like to kid ourselves that we know what the other side is looking to get out of the negotiation. At least on the surface, all sales negotiations look the same.

The easy-to-see desires of the other side generally come down to one of three things: money, goods, and / or services. This is what we can see and this is what we spend our time preparing to negotiate. However, that’s really only part of the story.

Knowledge Of Hidden Needs Boosts Your Power

I’m sure that you’re probably already agreeing with me that knowing the other side of the table’s hidden needs would be advantageous when you are getting ready to negotiate. However, did you know that this knowledge will increase your negotiating power?

Remember that power in a sales negotiation is a difficult thing to nail down. However, the more that you know about the other side and their hidden needs, then the more negotiating power you’ll have.

The Search For Hidden Needs

If we can all agree that identifying the other side’s hidden needs is a good thing, than all that is left for us to talk about is just exactly HOW you can go about doing that. The key is to have a good set of questions.

These are the questions that you need to ask yourself BEFORE you enter into a sales negotiation. Not every question will pertain to this specific negotiation and your list will evolve over time. Here’s a good set of questions for you to start asking yourself:

  • Do they want to make their lives easier?
  • Do they want to appear to be competent?
  • Do they want peace of mind?
  • Do they want to be listened to?
  • Do they want freedom of choice?
  • Do they want to keep their job?
  • Do they want recognition?
  • Do they want to be liked?

Final Thoughts

As you enter into a sales negotiation, you need to realize that the other side of the table probably has more hidden needs than they have publicly known needs. What this means for you is that the other side of the table won’t say “yes” to your requests until after at least some of their hidden wants have been fulfilled.

In the end, all negotiating is about making sure that you have enough power to be successful. One of the most important keys is to realize that we need to also address the other side of the table’s hidden needs in order reach an agreement that both sides can live with.

If you can learn to spot these hidden needs before you enter into your next negotiation, then you will be able to close better deals and close them quicker.

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What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

Time after time the same weakness shows up in my clients. No matter how confident they may feel about a negotiation or how much research they’ve done going in, the issue of available time seems to trip them up over and over again.

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Power Loss In Sales Negotiations

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
Negotiators Have Both Positive And Negative Sources Of Power <p> (C) - 2008 </p>

Negotiators Have Both Positive And Negative Sources Of Power (C) - 2008

The single  most important factor in determining how a negotiation is going to turn out centers on a single question: who has the most power? The big problem that most of us have is that we don’t think that we have enough of it. Turns out, we’re generally wrong about this…

The Secret Of Negotiating Power

What is power in a sales negotiation? Simple – it’s the ability of one side of the table to control both the resources that are available to the other side as well as the benefits that they can get.

At all times during a sales negotiation it is your responsibility to be looking for ways to build up your power base while at the same time working to prevent the other side of the table from gaining leverage over you (and thereby causing you power loss).

Where Does Your Power Come From?

All too often when I’m talking with sales negotiators, they’ll tell me that they don’t feel as though they have enough negotiating power to be successful in an upcoming bargaining session. When we talk a bit more, it quickly becomes apparent that they are only seeing half the story. Specifically, they are only thinking about “positive power“.

Positive negotiating power comes from all of the things that put you in a good position to negotiate. Having plenty of time to make a deal, having attractive alternatives, having plenty of funding, etc. – these are all sources of positive power for you.

What my clients always seem to overlook is that they also have “negative power” working for them. Negative negotiating power comes from limitations and restrictions that the other side of the table is working under. These can include the need to reach a deal quickly, not having a good alternative to dealing with you, or even limited availability of funds.

Final Thoughts

The power that you have during a sales negotiation isn’t something that sits on the table next to you. Instead, it’s more like a feeling of confidence that you have when you sit down at the table.

Not only do you have the easily recognizable sources of positive power working for you, you also have the hidden sources of negative power on your side also. If you can learn to spot both of these power sources before you enter into your next negotiation, then you will be able to close better deals and close them quicker.

Click here to get automatic updates when The Accidental Negotiator Blog is updated.

What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

All sales negotiations are driven by both public and private needs. If you can understand and deal with the other side’s hidden needs, then you’ll have more power during the negotiation.

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Sales Negotiation Tips From Brian Dietmeyer

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
Brian Dietmeyer Has Some Reminders About Good Sales Negotiation Skills

Brian Dietmeyer Has Some Reminders About Good Sales Negotiation Skills

The basics of sales negotiations are pretty straightforward; however, it can be easy to lose sight of them as we talk about tactics, preparation, and detailed sales negotiation skills. Maybe it’s time that we took a step back and got an expert to remind us about what we really need to be doing in our next sales negotiation?

Introducing Brian Dietmeyer

Brian Dietmeyer is the President / CEO of a company called Think! that offers business-to-business negotiation training. He’s also written a book called Strategic Negotiation: A Breakthrough Four-Step Process for Effective Business Negotiation.

Awhile ago Brian sat down with the folks over at SellingPower magazine and went over the fundamental things that we all have to remember when we start a sales negotiation. He does a pretty good job of hitting most of the bases.

The video included below (sorry RSS readers, I think that you’re going to have to visit the blog to see the video) is only about 5 minutes long. Brian does a good job of pointing out three things:

  • How to reach an agreement with someone who is NOT an agreeable person.
  • The importance of facts and data in any sales negotiation.
  • The role of greed & fear in a sales negotiation.

Brian is, of course, trying to sell himself, his company, and his book but he only does this briefly about halfway through the video – it’s still a good video.

A 5-Minute Sales Negotiation Interview With Brian Dietmeyer

Questions For You

Do you agree with Brian – would having the right facts & data allow you to reach an agreement with a difficult customer? Do you think people’s fear of sales negotiations comes from the fact that they are afraid that they don’t have the right data? Do you think the 3 offer technique would work for you? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

Click here to get automatic updates when The Accidental Negotiator Blog is updated.

What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

So this time around, we’re going to do things just a bit differently. There’s a video that has been going around on YouTube that does a pretty classic job of capturing just how ridiculous negotiating between vendors and clients can be.

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Tips From The Middle East For Sales Negotiators

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
The People Of The Middle East Have Always Been Sales Negotiation Experts

The People Of The Middle East Have Always Been Sales Negotiation Experts

They say that the world is getting smaller every day. This may be true, but the people who live in this smaller world couldn’t be more different than they are! A case in point are the  sales negotiators who hail from the Middle East – Arabs if you will. Unlike us in the West who become uptight at the mere thought of entering into a negotiation, they actually look forward to negations – it’s fun!

There is a lot going on behind the scenes here. Not the least of which is that negotiating has been a key part of Arab culture since days in which the very first trade routes wound their way through the Middle East connecting Europe to the Orient. They’ve gotten to be quite good at this skill and it shows when you negotiate with them.

One thing that Westerners need to understand when entering into negotiations with Arabs is that bargaining is a very social activity for them. You’ll find that you will be greeted warmly and food and drink are often provided in generous quantities. This can throw a Western sales negotiator off because you’ll start to feel as though you are at a dinner party instead of a sales negotiation.

Arabs also have a different view of time than those from the West. In part because they enjoy the sales negotiation process nothing will be rushed. You’ll find that there are many breaks, many side discussions, and frequent interruptions.

These interruptions may include visits from people not involved in the sales negotiations. They may come and go multiple times. Just let it happen. You need to keep your calm and realize that you are playing the same sales negotiation game, just at a different table.

Finally, you need to realize that Arabs don’t really worry about deadlocks. They have no problems walking away from a sales negotiation and then coming back to it later on. They always hope to eventually do a deal, but they realize that sometimes this is not possible.

Have you ever had a chance to participate in a sales negotiation when the other side of the table was from the Middle East? Did they seem to enjoy the sales negotiation process? Was time a factor? Did you ever encounter a deadlock? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

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C’est La Vie – French Lessons For Sales Negotiators

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Sales Negotiations With The French Requires Understanding Of Two Key Differences

Sales Negotiations With The French Requires Understanding Of Two Key Differences

So what is your view of the the French? Is your view of this magnificent county and its people shaped by those Inspector Clouseau movies that you used to watch while you were growing up? If it was, then it’s time to get over it and move on – they negotiate much differently than you do.

As with all things in sales negotiations, there is no right or wrong as long as you are able to eventually reach a successful conclusion to your sales negotiations. The trick when dealing with the French is to realize that they approach negotiations differently than either Americans or British do.

There are two key characteristics that every sales negotiator needs to know when dealing with French negotiators. The first is HOW they approach sales negotiations, and the second is HOW they view concessions.

In all honesty, we Americans always seem to be in a rush when we enter in to a negotiation – we work from the bottom up. We pick the first point, try to hammer out an agreement, and then move on to the next point. The French have a completely different approach – if I had to use a 50 cent word I’d call it a more “holistic” approach.

The French prefer to work on a sales negotiation from the top down. They’ll try to reach agreement on the basis of some broad principles first, and spend time working out the details. While they are working out the details, they will constantly refer back to the central agreement on the broad principles. Since you start from a point of agreement, it always seems like the rest of the work is just sorting out the details and that an agreement will eventually be reached.

When it comes to concessions, the French have a very strong sense of quid-pro-quo: they always want to get something in return. Unlike Americans, the French have no problems tying strings to their concessions – you are going to have to give something up if you want to get them to give in on a point.

There you have it, it is possible to reach a successful sales negotiation deal when the other side of the table is French. You just have to remember that their approach to the negotiation and to concessions will be different than yours and you are going to have to change to make the deal work out.

Have you ever had a chance to participate in a sales negotiation when the other side of the table was French? Did they seem to be approaching the negotiation in a top-down fashion? Did you end up giving up something every time they made a concession? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

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