I am a big believer in reshuffling and reconfiguring my offering during the negotiation phase. I will never simply discount my price, but I will, as suggested in the earlier question, throw out a different price to determine whether or not it will work for the prospect. Once I determine that it will, I will go back to the drawing board and redraw and rearrange my offering, taking elements out and putting new elements in, so that I can find a new and different mix that will work for this prospect in this situation.
This is an important exercise, and one that I think every salesperson with negotiating responsibilities should practice. How many different ways can you bundle your product or service? How many different ways can you put together the various elements, and still deliver superior value, but for a different price? It is a guiding principle in the world of effective negotiation that you never give up something for nothing. So, if a prospect demands a significant price concession, the best advice is not simply to say, “Yes,” but to identify the price plan that will work for him or her, and come back with a new offering that matches that price.
Knowing When to Walk Away
As you walk into the negotiating session, it is your responsibility to know precisely when, and under what circumstances, you will walk away from the negotiations. That is not the prospect’s job—it is yours. If the other side suggests, and insists on, a price, plan, or package that is simply beyond the criteria you are willing to accept, you really should politely conclude the negotiations and walk out.
The unstated, but perhaps obvious, principle underlying this advice is that the more business you have waiting for you, the more favorable the offer you can demand during negotiating sessions. I like to remind salespeople during our training sessions that prospecting for new leads is not simply a way of initiating new business relationships; it is also a silent bit of leverage that you can use to justify a decision to move on to a new deal. If you have no prospects, your negotiating position will be poor.
Can we set up a pilot/introductory/mini program?
If discussions are in danger of getting seriously bogged down, consider the possibility of offering a miniature version of your program as part of a pilot offering. This may be easier for the prospect to agree to, and there is very little downside on your part, as long as you are there to help implement it and also to help interpret the results of the program. The bottom line: Use this to get the first deal, even if small, across the finish line. Then be sure to stay involved throughout the course of the pilot program!
If I do X, do we have a deal?
Definitely a late-stage question. Do not be afraid to ask for clarification on exactly what stands between you and the deal. There is no crime in being specific, or in asking someone else to do so.
Once you’ve posed the question, stop talking and see what response comes back.
It makes sense to me—what do you think?
This is the question that we have been working our way up to throughout the entire sales process, and indeed. It is, ultimately, the only question that matters.
I have included it here as the question you can use to “clinch the deal,” and it is certainly the most effective strategy I have ever come across for doing that. It is also, however, the underlying question behind just about everything else you have read here.
Sales is a matter of throwing the ball. If I toss a ball to you, you have to react somehow. You can let the ball drop to the floor; you can catch it and throw it back to me; you can catch it and take it away. But you do have to do something. This question, for all its simplicity, is that act of throwing the sales “ball,” condensed to a few simple words. It is the question you should ask when you want to execute the plan you believe, in your heart, to be in the best interests of both parties.
On its own, however, it is useless. If you simply deliver a memorized “spiel” for half an hour, and turn to the person and say, “It makes sense to me. What do you think?” you will not be selling at the optimum level. You will, of course, close
Some sales—the sales to the people who are already in the marketplace, and who are already predisposed to buying, and who have more or less made up their mind to buy from someone. Those sales will come your way no matter what. But in order to get to the highest level of sales, you must be willing to ask some variation of this question throughout the process, not merely at the end.
Does it make sense for the person to meet with you in the first place? Does it make sense for him or her to allow you to interview key people within the organization? Does it make sense for him or her to share personal insights and experiences—the “stories” that have made this person a unique asset to his or her organization? Does it make sense for this person to share sensitive reports and data with you? Does it make sense for him or her to go out on a limb and introduce you to the president of the company? Does it make sense to him or her to meet with you a second or third or fourth time? Does it make sense to him or her to allow you to develop the presentations that will be delivered before the all-important committee meeting?
All these questions and their hundreds of potential variations are the necessary precursors to this question.
Don’t just ask the final question . . . ask all the questions that lead up to it and make it possible. That way, if the recommendation you are making really does make sense, you will be in a great position, not only to close a sale, but to build a future.
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