Negotiating Success = Bottom-line Dollars

Every dollar counts. Buyers struggle to reduce costs by asking sellers to cut their margins. Seller's work to close sales without unnecessarily giving away the store. Today's negotiating environment is more intense than ever.

Negotiation is a learned skill. Those with the best skills invariably come out on top. Improvements in negotiation skills are immediate and measurable. Negotiation skills training provides an incredible return on investment. A negotiation skills training program will pay for itself in a month.

For the buyer, it's not enough to simply tell the salesperson that he or she has competition and that lower prices are required.  The buyer needs to work with all the people involved in the purchasing process to develop and maintain a consistent story and total negotiation strategy. This is particularly important when the buyer has limited options or is in a sole source position.

For the seller, the key is to understand the real needs and pressures the buyer’s organization faces. The seller needs to understand that every buyer will say that they are price driven and that all the suppliers’ added value offerings are identical. This is almost never correct. Sales needs to understand how to use their existing information gathering process to develop a true understanding of the customers actual negotiating position. And they need to have a complete mastery of negotiating tactics and strategies in order to close sales without giving away the store.

Here are some key negotiating strategies and tips for buyers and sellers:

Don't Believe Everything You See and Hear

When it comes to negotiating, take everything you see and hear with a grain of salt. Buyers and sellers are good actors. The seller may be the only person who has what the buyer needs, but everything the buyer does and says, from body language to the words they use, will be designed to lead the seller to believe that unless the buyer gets an extra 10% off, they are going with the competition. The seller may be desperate to make the sale, but everything the seller does and says, from body language to the words they use, will be designed to lead the buyer to believe that they are really not in a big hurry. Be skeptical. Be suspicious. Test, probe, and see what happens.

Don't Offer Your Bottom Line Early in the Negotiation, Concede Slowly

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 or your price (or increase your offer) 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% move. You might have to go all the way to 10%, but often you won't. A little stubbornness can pay big dividends.

Be Patient

Finally, and most important, be patient. Everything in business is high energy and fast moving. 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.

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