The negotiation stage is the make or break of any deal. After weeks of lead generation, nurturing, and value-adding, it all boils down to this one moment.
And it’s in this moment where your ability to negotiate is the sole determinant to whether you sell, or you sell out.
When your sales and negotiation skills are the difference between you landing the deal and leaving empty handed, it really pays to know what you’re doing. Read on to discover four key tips on how you can harness your negotiation skills to secure your sales pipeline.
1) Do your homework
It’s sales 101. You could have the best sales funnel in the world, but if you walk into that meeting room without knowing your prospect, you’re going to come off worse than you could have.
Understanding who you’re speaking with gives you a huge upper hand in negotiations, so researching your prospect thoroughly before you connect is essential. This way, if the other party raises a new objection or poses you a difficult question, you’ll know exactly how to respond.
2) Invest in negotiation training
Even top negotiators need to refine and advance their skills from time to time – and negotiation training is a great way to cover all of the essentials.
Companies like The Gap Partnership offer full sales negotiation training to help you make the most of key situations – both in your business and personal lives. If you’re serious about improving your negotiation technique, courses like these are well worth your time.
3) Don’t let stress get the best of you
Stress creates tension. Tension creates pressure. And pressure leads to irrational decisions and unfavourable outcomes. As a result, if you experience high levels of workplace stress, you need to find a way to cut it at the source.
Is your workload too much? Are you spending long hours in the office burning the midnight oil? Whatever the root cause may be, work to find an active solution. Despite what you may think, stress can be managed and once it’s out of the way, you’ll be free to tackle your sales negotiations with a clear mind.
4) Don’t rush your deals
Some 75 per cent of something is much better than 100 per cent of nothing. And if you rush through your deals, you run the risk of walking away with substantially less than what you deserve.
You might feel under pressure to close a particular deal within a certain time frame in order to meet your quota. If you’re in this situation, step back and ask yourself – is the chance of a fast sale worth the risk of alienating and subsequently losing a prospect? More often than not, the answer should be no.
Take your time and invest yourself into the sales process. Leave room for negotiation, and you’ll seal mutually-beneficial deals. By doing this and nurturing a prospect through the sales process, there’s a much higher chance of you securing referrals and repeat business.
Advance your negotiation tactics with the help of experienced professionals today. Visit The Gap Partnership now to learn more now.
Further reading on sales and negotiation skills
