Selling in Tough Times Newsletters
Jan 2011You don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate
In today’s highly-competitive markets, prospects are more risk-averse than ever. While your prospects must focus on every aspect of every purchase to prove that they are getting the best possible deal. Many of your prospects have become “professional purchasers” who know how to play hardball with suppliers and they are fully responsible to get the best deal possible.
At the same time, your goal as the seller is to establish enough value to minimise the price discussion when it is time to close the business. Your company’s profits are directly affected by your ability to meet your customers’ needs while meeting your own goals. That said, sales is the business of relationships, and like any relationship it requires give and take. We typically expect the give and take, also known as negotiating, to happen during proposal and contract discussions; however, in reality, we continually negotiate throughout the sales process – on everything from picking a time to meet to determining who will participate in a demo to hashing out the terms and conditions of a contract. So you have your hand of cards to play, the trick know is to learn to play them well.
In this guide we hope to give you some tips and protocols that will help you negotiate better all round sales agreements. We hope you find it useful.