When we think about commercial negotiation, we often envision a communication approach based primarily on the salesperson's skills, such as active listening or the ability to respond to objections.
It's essential but not enough.
Because in many cases, this will result in discounts, conflicts, tensions, failure to negotiate at all, and ultimately accepting the buyer's conditions.
Commercial negotiation must be a structured approach based on 3 key concepts that we will present to you:
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- Defining objectives 🎯
- Concessions / Counterparts 💬
- Understanding the interests 🔍
KEY #1 – Define your objectives
The success of a negotiation largely depends on the quality of its preparation. Before starting any negotiation, it is important to clearly define your objectives and determine how to achieve them.
Specifically, how to prepare?
This work is not about your entire offer, but about each point of the offer: the price, the length of commitment, etc.
Once these elements have been defined, it is necessary to do the same analysis for the person in front of you.
By applying the same reasoning to the stakeholder, you will obtain the probable zone of agreement – which is called ZOPA – that is, the area between your respective opening and resistance points in which you can find a point of agreement.
Obviously, the smaller this zone, the more difficult it will be to find a point of agreement. Conversely, the larger it is, the more likely you are to reach an agreement.
This work is fundamental and must be carried out throughout the negotiation process, with updates as information is gathered.
To best prepare you for your sales negotiation, we offer a FREE 30-minute session to define your opening offer, your target, and your breaking point.
KEY #2 – Prepare your counter-offers/concessions
Concessions and counterparts are essential in any business negotiation.
Everyone must be prepared to achieve their objectives while enabling the other party to reach theirs. You need to be able to exchange efforts by making concessions and requesting something in return.
Before a sales negotiation, it's important to list the concessions you can make and the counter-offers you want to obtain. Concessions and counter-offers always go hand in hand, so you should ask for a counter-offer every time you grant a concession.
Furthermore, in the way you phrase things, it's preferable to make it a prerequisite that the effort is first validated by the stakeholder.
To secure this essential part of any good negotiation, there is a preparation phase to identify concessions and trade-offs, and an extremely precise way of formulating that ensures the concession and the trade-off are respected by both parties. This allows you to effectively play the concessions and trade-offs game.
In this case, you have exchanged a contract duration on one side for a discount on the other, but in the way you formulated it, you made it a prerequisite that the effort be validated first by the stakeholder.
A concession is a benefit granted to the other party, to which they are attached. The counterparty is a benefit obtained, to which you are attached.
There are several steps to follow to get something in return during a business negotiation. Dominique Seguin, General Manager of KESTIO, elaborates on them in the webinar « Négocier Zen ». Click below to watch the replay
KEY #3 – Identify interests
The last important key in business negotiation is to understand that interests are not positions.
This distinction is particularly important because positions are often visible elements, while interests are hidden. You may already know this, but there are many similarities between sales and chess.
A second crucial element is to separate people from problems. Anglo-Saxon cultures find it easier to focus on problems without blaming individuals.
In French culture, there is often a tendency to associate the problem with the person. This can create tension and make negotiation more difficult. It is therefore important to remain logical and set emotions aside in order to maintain a structured and collaborative exchange. To learn more, you can read our article: The 5 tips inspired by good salespeople to sell your project.
Do you want to go further to improve your negotiation skills? We have gathered the 5 golden rules of a good sales negotiation for you. Click on the button below to watch our video and then test your knowledge via a quiz.
KEY #4: Expert advice
