Most sales pros dread negotiating final deals with it appears that the customer holds all the cards. However, Randall Murphy, president of the performance consulting and professional development company Acclivus Corporation, believes that the sales pros have five ways to gain power during sales negotiations. If you don’t want your deals to get bogged down in negotiating, he suggests that reps cultivate five key attributes:
1 – Insight. Reps should have multiple contacts inside the customer organization to gain additional understanding of the customer’s problems and to be better able to craft a workable solution. Even the CEO at the customer’s firm doesn’t know everything, so as an outsider, a rep can always bring a fresh perspective.
2 – Legitimacy. Reps should refuse to cave to unreasonable or last-minute customer demands; they should stick to their firm’s policies and procedures. By explaining why those policies make sense, reps present and image that is strong and confident about what their firm can contribute.
3 – Relationship. Reps should know that while building rapport is important, a truly productive business relationship is based upon mutual respect and understanding, and a sense of working together to achieve mutual goals.
4 – Understanding. Reps are more valued when either skill and understanding helps the customer to crystallize needs and visualize the right solution. Reps build negotiating power when they can help the customer achieve a clearer understanding of those needs and focus on the best way to get those needs met.
5- Differentiation. Reps should communicate clearly how their firm’s products or services are different from the competition. Differentiation helps the customer see the salesperson as a unique resource rather than a replaceable functionary.
For more information, go to www.acclivus.com.
