Expert Sales Coach Offers NEGOTIATING TIPS AND TACTICS HIGH PERFORMANCE SALESPEOPLE MASTER
By Rick Mullen | Broom, Brush & Mop Associate Editor
uring his video presentation, “Negotiating and Handling Price Objections With Buyers,” for the recent ISSA Show North America Virtual Experience, Jeff Gardner, president of Maximum Performance Group, LLC, began by pointing out that “selling” and “negotiating” are not exactly the same thing.
“The lose-win is when the customer loses and the salesperson wins, and then there is the lose-lose, which is the worst-case scenario. “The goal in negotiation is to always have a win-win result. If you, as a salesperson or as a company, don’t feel comfortable about the deal you negotiated with a buyer, you are not going to feel good about servicing that customer.”
the buyer — whomever you are interacting with — is interested in what you are saying, but maybe not completely, so you end up negotiating.” Typically, negotiating training classes available are geared toward buyers, and not salespeople, Gardner said. As a result, a few years ago, he developed a training program designed for salespeople. “Many buyers attend negotiation classes, where they learn tactics to use on salespeople,” Gardner said. “It is the buyer’s responsibility to get the best deal for his/her company, and, as a salesperson, you are bargaining with buyers to reach an agreement. Your responsibility, as a salesperson, is also to get the best deal for your company. “I want to emphasize negotiating is a skill. When it comes to negotiating, some people might have natural abilities, however, much like ‘gifted’ athletes, they also need to practice to become the best they can be.” Gardner listed four typical outcomes of negotiations: “The win-win is what we are aiming for. We all want to have a win-win result,” he said. “The win-lose is when the customer wins and the salesperson loses.
Negotiating happens throughout the entire sales process, which is:
D
“Selling is convincing people to buy from you,” he said. “Negotiating is gaining agreement to the sale. The customer, the prospect,
PG 36
n Prospecting to gain an appointment; n Discovery: Needs analysis and problem identification; n Present solution and ask for commitment. Negotiating begins after you ask for a commitment; n Negotiate and gain commitment; and, n Grow: Account development.
“Think about the five-step sales process. The whole purpose is to gain an appointment with a qualified buyer,” Gardner said. After an appointment is secured and the salesperson meets with a buyer, a needs analysis is the next step. “Can I help this customer? Can I help this company? Are they experiencing any problems I can help solve? You want to be able to go through that process,” Gardner said. Next, the salesperson will present a solution and then ask for a commitment. This is when negotiating kicks in, Gardner said. “What happens is, you present a proposal and you ask the buyer, ‘Are you willing to accept this proposal? Do you want to move forward? Does everything look good? When can we get BBM MAGAZINE | March/April 2021
