Are You Negotiating
Away Margins?
July 2004 - BEK Best Practices Newsletter
By Chip Doyle, Sandler Sales Institute
I met with an HR executive at the beginning
of the year who wanted to know how we trained salespeople
in "negotiation." After a little questioning, I was really
struck by his misconception that their salespeople SHOULD
be negotiating, which in layman's terms is lowering price
or offering some concession in exchange for a promise to
buy.
Trusted advisors and top salespeople do everything
they can to AVOID negotiating. Their job is to uncover the
costs of the prospect;s problem and then to determine what
budget is available to solve it BEFORE they propose a solution.
The predominant problem many sales people have is that they
simply aren;t comfortable talking about budget and cost
impacts until the end of the sale. So they are forced to
negotiate at the end, attempting to close the sale in spite
of inadequate financial information.
Salespeople who rely on negotiation at the
end of the sale usually exhibit these symptoms:
- Think that buying is primarily an intellectual process,
not an emotional process
- Don't understand the costs associated with the problem
or what's at stake financially early in the sales process
- Feel the product or service they sell is extremely
expensive
- Are uncomfortable talking about other people's finances
If you have salespeople that regularly require
permission for a reduced price to get the sale or blame
the competition;s price after losing the deal, look to the
symptoms above to gain insight into the attitudes that drive
these behaviors and outcomes. Please understand that I;m
not saying that top salespeople NEVER need to negotiate.
The point is to differentiate the strong salespeople who
rarely need to negotiate from the weak ones that must negotiate
every time to close a sale.
Examine the beliefs and behaviors of your
salespeople when dealing with money issues, so they can
minimize the need to negotiate at the end and sell more,
more often!
Good Selling!
Chip Doyle
Chip Doyle owns a Sandler Sales Institute
and works with individuals and corporations in technical/professional
markets who are sick and tired of the stale lines and artificial
closes taught by traditional trainers and heard millions
of times by purchasers throughout North America. He can
be reached at 800.391.CHIP (2447) or E-mail
Chip.
Next month's topic:
Price: How Personal Buying Habits Affect the Sales Process
by Steve Parry of Sales Productivity Consultants.
For more information, contact BEK Enterprises
at:
Web: www.bekteam.com
E-mail:
Phone: 720-304-3300
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