When we think of sales negotiation, we often think of a communication approach based essentially on the salesperson's skills, such as active listening or the ability to bounce back from objections.
This is essential, but not sufficient.
Because in many cases, this will result in discounts, conflicts, tensions, not negotiating at all, and accepting the buyer's conditions.
Commercial negotiation must be structured around 3 key concepts, which we will present to you below:
-
- Defining objectives 🎯
- Concessions / quid pro quos 💬
- Understanding interests 🔍
KEY No. 1 - Define your goals
The success of a negotiation depends to a large extent on the quality of its preparation. Before embarking on any negotiation, it is important to clearly define your objectives and determine how to translate them.
In practical terms, how do you prepare?
It's not a question of working on your offer as a whole, but rather on each point of the offer: price, commitment period, etc.
Once you've defined these elements, you need to do the same analysis for the person in front of you.
By applying the same reasoning to the stakeholder, you'll obtain the probable zone of agreement - known as the ZOPA - i.e. the zone between your respective announcement and break points in which you can find a point of agreement.
Obviously, the smaller the zone, the more difficult it will be to reach agreement. Conversely, the wider it is, the more likely you are to be able to reach agreement.
This work is fundamental, and must be carried out throughout the negotiation process, updating the information as it becomes available.
To help you prepare for your sales negotiation, we offer you a FREE 30-minute session to define your announcement point, your focus and your breaking point.
KEY No. 2 - Prepare your counterparties/concessions
Concession and quid pro quo are essential in any commercial negotiation.
Each party must be prepared to achieve its own objectives, while enabling the other party to achieve its own. You have to be able to exchange efforts by making concessions and asking for something in return.
Before any commercial negotiation, it's important to list the concessions you can make and the quid pro quos you want to obtain. Concessions and quid pro quos always go hand in hand, so you need to ask for a quid pro quo every time you make a concession.
Secondly, in the way you formulate it, it's best to make it a prerequisite that the effort is first validated by the stakeholder.
To ensure the security of this exercise, which is an essential part of any good negotiation, there is a preparation phase to identify concessions and quid pro quos, and an extremely precise formulation to ensure that concessions and quid pro quos are respected on both sides. This makes it possible to play the give-and-take game effectively.
In this case, you've exchanged a contract term on the one hand, for a discount on the other, but in the way you've formulated it, you've made it a prerequisite that the effort is first validated by the stakeholder.
The concession is an advantage granted to the other, to which he is attached. The counterparty is a benefit obtained, to which you are attached.
There are several steps to follow in order to obtain a quid pro quo in a commercial negotiation. Dominique Seguin, Managing Director of Kestio , explains them in the webinar "Négocier Zen". Click below to watch the replay
KEY No. 3 - Identify your interests
The last important key in commercial negotiation is to understand that interests are not positions.
This distinction is particularly important because positions are often the visible elements, while interests are hidden. As you may know, there are many similarities between selling and playing chess.
A second crucial element is to separate people from problems. Anglo-Saxon cultures find it easier to focus on problems without questioning people.
In French culture, we often tend to associate the problem with the person. This can create tension and make negotiation more difficult. So it's important to keep to logical reasoning and leave emotions aside to maintain a structured, concerted exchange. To find out more, take a look at our article: 5 sales tips to help you sell your project.
Want to take your negotiation skills to the next level? We've put together the 5 golden rules of good sales negotiation. Click on the button below to watch our video and then test your knowledge with a quiz.
KEY No. 4: Expert advice
