FEATURE | NEGOTIATING
HOW TO WRESTLE AN ADVANTAGE SIMON BUZZA summarises his 12 rules of negotiation
W
hile organisations make a significant investment in sales skills, a crucial element of capability development is under-resourced and poorly executed – and that element is negotiation skills. So, we decided to develop our most significant observations and recommendations on negotiation – those we see most often through our training and consultancy work – and define a set of 12 rules of negotiation. The purpose for sellers is straightforward – to help them to negotiate more effectively with buyers. Over the past six editions of Winning Edge I have explained these 12 rules in some detail. In this, my last article in this series, I provide a summary of them – and some final thoughts.
RULE 1 IF YOU DO NOT ASK YOU WILL NOT GET! l How can you achieve your aspirations if
you do not ask your customer or prospect for the business? l Lack of conviction and failure to close the deal are the main downsides if you don’t. l You may be pleasantly surprised by the answers you receive if you do.
RULE 2 NEGOTIATIONS ARE WON IN ADVANCE l Negotiations are won in the planning and
preparation, not at the table. negotiators spend enough time on planning, preparation and rehearsals. l Spend four times the duration of the actual negotiation on your preparation, planning and rehearsals. It will show! l Only about 4% of
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RULE 3 KNOW YOUR ENEMY AND KNOW YOURSELF
l As ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu
said in his treatise, The Art of War, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” l Understand the buyer’s perspective and the balance of power. l Spend 50% of the preparation time looking at the other party’s perspective.
RULE 4 UNDERSTAND YOUR OWN VALUE
l There are three aspects to value – financial,
operational and personal. Clarify them before you start and use them all. l Understand benefits not features, and so bring solutions to needs – not a product set at a price. l Focus on your points of differentiation or you will compete only on price.
RULE 5 EACH CUSTOMER HAS DIFFERENT VALUE TO YOU l All customers are not equal. Sellers use the
“customer positioning matrix” to assess the relative importance of different customers, and therefore how they should be managed. l Buyers use the “category market positioning grid” to assess the relative importance of each category of spend. l Understand both tools and bring the appropriate strategies to bear for different customers. Don’t handicap yourself by being a one-trick pony. ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
22/06/2018 15:07
