Do you think that sales people are as effective at
negotiating as the procurement professionals they are facing across the buying
table? I’ve got some bad news for you.
In the course of my work as a speaker, consultant and
corporate trainer in the areas of sales and negotiation I have spent increasing
amounts of time working the “other side” of the buying table. Over the last few years I have trained both
sales professionals and procurement professionals in approximately equal numbers
to negotiate.
And I have come to a disturbing conclusion - in the majority
of cases salespeople just aren’t as good at negotiating as they need to be. As this concerning reality became increasingly
apparent I spent much time and thought working out why this is the case and
what can be done about it. My conclusions are as follows:
At an early stage in their career sales people are usually told
to “keep the customer happy”. They have
been taught that happy customers are good customers and will go out of their
way to placate unhappy customers.
Professional buyers know this and will deliberately make salespeople
uncomfortable by appearing to be “unhappy” as a way of tipping the power
balance in their favour.
In addition selling and negotiating are two distinct skill
sets. Although selling and negotiating
are inextricably linked there are distinct differences:
In selling we are attempting to persuade, convince, enthuse,
justify and explain. By contrast in
negotiation we are stating our position, considering, making and weighing
proposals and making demands for what we want.
In the majority of cases sales people are far less comfortable
with negotiating than buyers are. If
salespeople receive sales training the majority of the time will be spent on the
process of selling and very much less time (if any at all) will be spent on the
process of negotiating. Buyers on the
other hand will usually only receive training in negotiation. Therefore when it comes to the negotiation
stage of the sales process - buyers have the advantage.
Buyers will attempt to short cut the sales stage and pull
the salesperson out of their selling comfort zone and into their negotiating
discomfort zone. The experienced buyer
will increase the levels of discomfort as much as possible using psychological
ploys and tactics. The uncomfortable
salesperson will often pay their way out of discomfort in the form of (at best)
some form of financial concession or (at worst) a non-reciprocated “give
away”. They will literally pay their way
out of discomfort with their employer’s profit margin. For salespeople to become more effective
negotiators they need to recognise this and get more comfortable with being
uncomfortable!
Having spent countless hours running realistic and demanding
negotiation simulations, I have often seen the salesperson’s selling comfort
zone once again rearing its ugly head in terms of negotiation behaviour. Salespeople will tend to do far too much
information giving in the negotiation– driven by their predilection for
persuading and selling. In doing so,
they miss out on gathering the necessary information that would enable them to
make effective negotiation proposals.
They spend far too much time thinking about things from their
perspective and not enough time where their focus should be – getting inside
the buyer’s head, understanding things from the buyer’s perspective. Professional buyers will tend to exhibit
higher levels of information gathering, giving them far more knowledge and
information that they can the use to their advantage. In negotiation knowledge is power.
To successfully negotiate you need to understand – really
understand – what the other person wants to achieve. When you fully understand this you can create
a deal that meets the needs of both sides.
If you fail to gather enough information (as sales people frequently do)
your chances of securing a profitable deal is very limited. Salespeople need to move their own agenda and
objectives from the front of their mind to the back of their mind. The buyer’s needs and priorities need to be
in the front of the sales person’s mind – and they usually are not.
If this situation continues sales professionals are going to
continue to be taken advantage of by the procurement professionals they
encounter. The sales profession must put
more far more emphasis than it currently does on equipping sales people to be
more confident and capable negotiators.
Simon Hazeldine MSc FinstSMM is an international speaker and consultant in the areas of sales, negotiation, performance leadership and applied neuroscience.
He is the bestselling author of five business books:
- Neuro-Sell: How Neuroscience Can Power Your Sales Success
- Bare Knuckle Sellin
- Bare Knuckle Negotiating
- Bare Knuckle Customer Service
- The Inner Winner
To learn more about Simon's keynote speeches and other services please visit:
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