Posts Tagged ‘sales negotiators’

Sales Negotiators Know Not To Give In First

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
Sales Negotiators Who Make The Wrong Concessions End Up Playing Defense

Sales Negotiators Who Make The Wrong Concessions End Up Playing Defense

I wish that there was some sort of black magic potion or single scientific study that I could point to in order to justify what I’m about to tell you, but there isn’t. So here it goes: never be the first to make a concession on a MAJOR issue.

Why Should We Take The Hard Line Here?

Concessions are a part of every sales negotiation. In fact we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the 5 ways that sales negotiators can use concessions to get what they want.  Now all of  a sudden it looks like we’re doing a 180 and telling you to not give in. What’s up with that?

The big difference here is that we’re focusing on the MAJOR issues – not the 100′s of other, smaller issues that come up during any sales negotiation. It’s on these issues and these issues alone that you need to take the hard line.

It’s All About The Experiments

This is one of those things that has been the subject of a lot of  on-the-job experimentation. What each of the studies has shown is that the side of the table that makes the first concession on an important issue always seems to end up doing poorly. The reasons are not completely clear, but it appears as though the side of the table that made the concession then finds themselves on the defensive during the rest of the negotiation.

How Can You Use This Information?

Knowing that giving in first on major issues is a bad idea, you need to adjust your negotiating strategy so that you don’t deadlock over these issues. This means that BEFORE you allow the sales negotiation to get to a major issue, make sure that you discuss several smaller issues. On these issues, make the first concession if it is appropriate. This will buy you good will with the other side that you’ll be able to play on when you reach a major issue.

Final Thoughts

When you stand firm on the major issues you’ll be sending a message to other side that perhaps their expectations are too high and they should start to expect to lower them. Since you won’t be giving in first, you won’t have to be on the defensive for the rest of the sales negotiations and you’ll be all set to close better deals and close them quicker.

Questions For You

Have you ever been in a sales negotiation where you ended up being the first to make a concession on a major issue? How did that sales negotiation turn out? Has the other side ever been the first to make a concession on a major issue? How did that make you feel when they did that? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

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What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

Every sales negotiation has some sort of time limit associated with it. You might have an hour, a day, or even longer to conduct the negotiations, but there is some point in time at which you’ll run out of time to talk. This is when most sales negotiations fall apart…

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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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Japanese Sales Negotiation Secrets

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Sales Negotiations With Japanese Partners Require New Skills

Sales Negotiations With Japanese Partners Require New Skills

All too often Americans (like me) think that we know everything. The reality is that our society has only been around for a bit over 200 years and we’re just getting started. That’s why it can be valuable for a sales negotiator to take a look at how societies that have been around for 1,000′s of years negotiate. Like, say, Japan…

The U.S. really started to take a look at how we dealt Japan in the 1980′s when trade between our countries exploded. What people quickly realized is that both sides of the table were fundamentally different. There for the first decade or so, U.S. sales negotiators were getting taken to the bank more often than not because the Japanese sales negotiators were doing a better job.

Over time HOW these negotiations were being conducted was closely studied. Three techniques quickly became apparent:

  1. Considered Response / Respectful Silence: when Japanese sales negotiators are on the other side of the table, be prepared to sit quietly. Western sales negotiators don’t know what to do when nobody is talking – and the Japanese know this. They can sit, work out math problems, draw in long breaths, etc. and say nothing for minutes at a time. This is all designed to get you to become flustered and give in on a point or say something that you shouldn’t say.
  2. KAN – “Seeking Heavenly Approval”: Western sales negotiators like to focus on the here and now. Japanese sales negotiators realize that this deal is just part of a much bigger relationship. After the details of the agreement have been worked out and it appears as though you are close to closing the deal, members of the Japanese team will pause. They will consider if they really want to do this deal with you – is it going to be worth it in the long run, or are you just going to be too much of a hassle to deal with? This moment is called KAN – reaching “heavenly approval”.
  3. Time & Money: the Japanese view the sales negotiation process differently than their Western partners do. We in the west see it as something to race through and quickly get done with. The Japanese view it as something to be nurtured. They set aside enough time to do it properly. They resist attempts to wrap it up quickly. They will revisit points over and over again in order to test your resolve. This is how Japanese sales negotiators turn time into money.

It is entirely possible to enter into sales negotiations with Japanese partners on the other side of the table and come out with an agreement that you feel good about. However, you need to fully understand how they see the world and adjust your sales negotiating style to this situation.

Have you ever had a chance to negotiate with a Japanese team? Were there long, uncomfortable periods of silence? Did they seem to slow things down and do more thinking as the end of the negotiations approached? Did you remember to budget enough time for the negotiation or did they budget more time than you had? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

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The Chinese Guide To Sales Negotiation

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Sales Negotiators Need To Learn How To Negotiate With The Chinese

Sales Negotiators Need To Learn How To Negotiate With The Chinese

Pity the poor American salesperson who goes out into the world of business and tries to negotiate. Sure, he/she is probably well equipped to negotiate with his / her American born-and-breed peers. I mean, after all, we share the same vocabulary, culture, and were brought up pretty much the same way. However, what happens when we encounter someone from a different (dare I say foreign?) culture? Like say, China…?

The world is constantly becoming a smaller and smaller place. Current economic conditions not withstanding, this is only going to speed up over time. That means that somehow we need to find a way to quickly come up to speed on how to deal with sales negotiators who come from different cultures. They think and act completely differently than we do and we are the ones who need to learn to adjust in order to make our sales negotiations successful.

Dr. Charles Karrass has spent a lot of time studying not only negotiations but also how cross-cultural negations do or don’t work. When it comes to dealing with folks from China, he’s got some suggestions for us:

  • Get Some Quanxi: Quanxi is the Chinese term for the construction of close family relations, or a joined network of relationships with the emphasis on the individual and informal groups rather than formal organizations. Building guanxi means building relationships. In sales negotiations, this means that by entering into a negotiated relationship, you are actually taking on a lot of responsibility. If things change during the contract, the other side can ask for changes and you are expected to be accommodating.
  • Watch Those Words: In negotiations with Chinese, what a word means is critically important. All too often, what a word means to you may not be what it means to the other side. Both before and during a negotiation, it would be worth your while to take the time to carefully define key words and make sure that both of you are using it the same way.
  • Persistence Pays: All too often in Western culture, we take a “no” as really meaning “no”. To a Chinese negotiator, your “no” just means “no for now” and they will feel free to revisit it over and over again to see if you’ve changed your mind. Many western negotiators have commented on this by saying that Chinese negotiators appear to grind away until they end up getting most of what they want. Chinese negotiators have both consistency and persistence – be prepared!

Yes, a sales negotiator can successfully conduct business with Chinese negotiators. However, you need to be aware that they view the world differently than you do and YOU are the one that is going to have to adjust in order to have these negotiations turn out successfully.

Have you ever had an opportunity to negotiate a business deal with a Chinese negotiator? Did they keep coming back over and over again to issues that you thought were already closed? Were there any misunderstandings over vocabulary words? Did you end up building a quanxi relationship? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

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