orgogp.info

How many times have you heard:

• “You’ve got to drop your price by 10% or we will have no choice but to go with your competition.”
• “You will have to make an exception to your policy if you want our business.”
• “I know that you have good quality and service, but so do your competitors. What we need to focus on here is your pricing.”
• “I agree that those special services you keep bringing up would be nice, but we simply don’t have the funds to purchase them. Could you include them at no additional cost?”

Every time you hear statements like these, you’re in the middle of a difficult sales negotiation. How you handle that negotiation will determine whether or not you close the sale and how profitable that sale will be. In order to give you a real edge every time, I have listed below some key points taken from my sales negotiation training seminar.

Don’t Believe Everything You See and Hear

Part of a good salesperson’s skill is to learn to read people and situations very quickly. However, when it gets down to negotiating, you have to take everything you see and hear with a grain of salt. Buyers are good negotiators, and thus they are good actors. You may be the only person who has what she needs, but everything she does and says, from body language to the words she uses, will be designed to lead you to believe that unless she gets an extra 10% off, she’s going with the competition. Be skeptical. Be suspicious. Test, probe, and see what happens.

Don’t Offer Your Bottom Line Early in the Negotiation

How many times have you been asked to “give me your best price”? Have you ever given your best price only to discover that the buyer still wanted more? You have to play the game. It’s expected. If you could drop your price by 10%, start out with 0%, or 2%, or 4%. Leave yourself room to negotiate some more. Who knows – you may get it for a 2% reduction. You might have to go all the way to 10%, but often you won’t. A little stubbornness pays big dividends.

Get Something in Return for Your Added Value

What if you discover that the buyer wants to be able to track his expenditures for your products or services in a way that is far more detailed and complex than is standard for your industry? What if your account tracking system is set up in a way that you can provide that information at essentially no cost to you? Often the salesperson’s overwhelming temptation is to jump in and say, “Oh, we can do that. That’s no problem.” Before you do, however, think about your options. You could throw it in as part of the package and try to build good will. Or you could take a deep breath and try something like, “That’s a difficult problem that will require some effort on our part, but it’s doable.”

In the second case, without committing, you’ve told the buyer it is possible. You may not be able to get him to pay extra for it but you may be able to use it as a bargaining chip in resisting price concessions. Which way you choose to go will depend on who your customer is and on the situation. However, you do have options.

Sell and Negotiate Simultaneously

Think of selling and negotiating as two sides of the same coin. Sometimes one side is face up, and sometimes the other side, but they are always both there. This is particularly true in your earliest contacts with the buyer. The face the buyer sees is that of a salesperson demonstrating features and benefits. The hidden face is that of a negotiator probing and seeking out information that may be invaluable later should issues like price, terms, quality, delivery, etc. have to be negotiated.

Be Patient

Finally, and most important, be patient. Sales is a high energy, fast moving business. Patience is one commodity that is in relatively short supply, but if you’re impatient in a negotiation, you’ll lose your shirt. If I’m negotiating with you and I know that you’re impatient, I will hold out just a little longer, no matter how desperate I am to make a deal with you. As long as I know you’re in a hurry, I’ll wait.

So be patient. Take the time that you need, don’t rush to give in, don’t show your anxiety, stay cool and don’t panic. Negotiation is a process and a game. Use the process and play the game. You’ll be astonished at the difference that it makes!

(c) Michael Schatzki – 2004. All rights reserved.

Looking to stand out in the crowd? Yet still need to ‘fit in’ to the corporate culture, norms and standards for business presenting? Don’t fret. You’re not alone.

Millions of people grapple with this tough dilemma. You want to be different, cutting-edge and radical. But you don’t want to alienate your boss, clients or prospects.

Hey, what’s the right thing to do?

In many popular books by leading experts in public speaking, you’ll find similar advice. It’s all about standing out and shining. You’ll find commands such as: Be unique. Get radical. Push the envelope. Go for shock and awe. Break the rules.

While this sounds good on paper, in the back of your mind, you’re thinking about ‘real world’ issues:

“What would my boss say?”

“That would never fly in my firm.”

“In your dreams, buddy.”

Let’s face the facts. Daring presentations are essential and important.  But there are organizational expectations and realities to face up to — if you want to keep your job.

In planning your next presentation, look at your options in 3-buckets: the good, the bad…and the ugly.

The Good

Action: You take a radical approach to presenting.

Instead of a hum-drum PowerPoint pitch, you turn on the juice with whiteboard presenting. By getting your audience involved in a lively discussion, you expose a hot issue that your clients are going crazy about — one that your firm is able to solve.

Result: Good!

Your boss commends you for taking the risks. Plus he is thrilled because you’ve brought in the rewards. Now, he wants you to find a training company that teaches visual storytelling so all the members of your team can be as proficient at the whiteboard as you are.

Benefit: Good!

You get an A+. Your boss loves your work. Your team admires you as their natural leader. Oh, yes. Don’t forget that hefty bonus check.

The Bad

Action: You take a radical approach to presenting.

You ditch the boring corporate-approved slide deck in favor for a whiteboard approach to storytelling.

Figuring that sketching with a marker in front of a group isn’t as hard as it looks…you jump in without coaching, practice or training.

What happens? Your busy clients are intrigued by your whiteboard scrawl. But they are looking bewildered. They aren’t sure why you bothered. Hint: if people can’t read your writing or understand your visual diagrams, your whiteboard presentations are going to bomb.

Result: Bad!

Your boss is pissed off! After yelling at you in front of the team, you are treated to the silent treatment. Not sure how to proceed, you toy with several options:

1. Get training in whiteboard interaction

2. Never use a whiteboard again

3. Start sending out your resume

Benefit: Instead of jumping first and getting help later, you now know the importance of targeted coaching and training! One bad experience is enough to light a fire underneath you. No more waiting. You’re actively seeking out coaching, training and online classes. No more procrastination. You’re focused on building your skills and getting help right now.

The Ugly

Action: You take a conservative approach to presenting.

Instead risking embarrassment and humiliation at the whiteboard, you grip on to your clicker and run with the same slide deck you used last time.

Feeling confident in your client presentation, you don’t check in with other team members. Moving along in the corporate-approved deck, you have a sense of warm certainty in your tummy that everything is going your way. No rocking the boat like some of your other teammates.

Result: Ugly!

Your boss flips out! You get the riot act. Some wild yelling and head slapping, accompanied with: “I can’t believe you showed that generic deck to these clients! We were counting on that deal. What were you thinking?!”

Feeling betrayed and disillusioned, you ask for help from a close teammate. He tells you that the newest trend in presenting is visual storytelling. He shows you how to draw icons and create a simple visual diagram at a whiteboard. In just minutes, you’ve got an easy story to tell that is fun, inspiring and anything but hum-drum.

Benefit: While you start sending out your resume for a new job, you now have a new awareness of presentation trends. You’re a lot less likely to rely on the same-old-same-old the next time you’re in front of busy clients.

In fact, you’ll be much more prepared to blow your audience away with whiteboard sketches and visual storytelling. Just the thing that important clients and prospects can relate to.

Now, let’s get personal. What’s your plan for your next high-stakes presentation? Take a close, hard look. Aim for interaction and visual storytelling. Remember this: Your boss and clients will love it. Imagine the rewards and benefits: you’ll get an A+ and land a big bonus.