🔊 Listen to this

With this post I don’t intend to cover in depth the negotiation process and steps, but highlight some of the crucial areas to have in mind. Doesn’t mean necessarily by this order, very often negotiations turn upside down, but worth to not let ourselves roll into emotions or take it personal. As the old saying, focus on interests, not positions.

1 Prepare in advance.

Know your customer, know the company, know your ambitions and max give away

Know the customer personality (power person, achiever, farmer)

What drives him (his passions, hobbies, interests)

Worries and challenges (personal or professional)

What does he need/expect

What might he ask/challenge

2 Body language

Stand relaxed (but professional), open and gentle

Re-image his posture, take control

Occupy the “terrain” (table)

No defensive posture. Don’t cross your arms

Eye contact

3 Posture

Don’t apologize (unless something wrong had happen). Rather explain background, reasoning and actions to mitigate in the future.

It’s never personal. Don’t let yourself roll in the story.

Be transparent, honest and open but never show complacency or guiltiness. Stand firm, realistic and listening. Listen much more than you talk (70/30 rule).

Don’t over explain. You’re just lacking arguments or pretending he’s stupid. Present facts.

3 During

Price is the last thing to talk about

If price discussion is pushed by customer, drive it to value, but Value according to customer needs and specifics, not at your eyes Value by cost (price) or saving (less manpower, more product, standardization)

Don’t let him bull you with lower prices from competition. Look broader. Don’t refer to a specific month if that’s not on your advantage, take the cycle and the average, take other parameters than the most superficial or evident.

4 when he’s talking

Don’t interrupt or answer right away. Take a few seconds. To show you’re reflecting and your answering not reacting emotionally but reasoning

Listen to his arguments. Find weak spots and use his own arguments to see them from different perspectives.

Find areas where his position can have links with yours and take it from there to drive him

Ask questions. Open questions. Relate what you hear to his ambitions.



5 Drive the discussion (without talking too much)

Without doing it very obvious, drive the discussion to your side

Don’t enter in discussions that leads nowhere (your high margins or prices).

Don’t justify your prices. You need to sustain and explain, not justify.

Look for “hidden” hints. Sometimes when a customer argues a lot, drops information that normally he wouldn’t (on inside malfunctions or dysfunction, competition behavior, logistics and so on)

At a certain point you need to move on a close the discussion or a specific topic. Thou don’t leave it without a proper “closure” to avoid it remains open for next time (unless it’s something you need to take action and revert back).

Have concessions ready. Start with the ones that might have higher interest to the customer.

Explain how your proposal and offer match both ambitions.