Sales Training Advice: Getting What You Want From Your Sales Related Meetings By Deploying Efficient Negotiation Skills
In Sales training programmes, sales negotiation skills are often overlooked. You could say that the underlying reason most of us feel the need to negotiate with anyone else is so that we can find a way to get what we need. Being human, most of us believe that our point of view is important and that others should at least think about seeing things our way. If you had no wants or needs, there would be little reason for you to negotiate with others.
If sales courses don't always teach influencing skills, how then can you convince other people to favourably consider your proposals?
Believe it or not, there is a science backed up by more than 60 years of research that has evolved our knowledge of the use of influence to satisfy our needs and wants in sales negotiation. The world's foremost expert on the science of persuasion, Dr Robert Cialdini, has identified 6 principles of persuasive communications in his investigative efforts:
Reciprocation
Liking
Commitment & Consistency
Authority
Scarcity
Social Proof
Whilst influence will always be somewhat of an art, it is really helpful to use the power of the 6 principles identified by scientific investigation to increase your odds of convincing others to give you what you really want.
Let's start by examining at what I believe to be the most important principle from a negotiation viewpoint - reciprocation.
Reciprocation means that we return to others the same behaviour that they demonstrate towards us. If you have helped me, then I should do you a favour. If you invite me to your birthday party, then I should invite you to my birthday party. If you make a concession to me, then I should make a concession to you.
So what does this mean to you and how can you employ it to get what you need?
Here's how:
Make sure that when you start a negotiation you ask for a little more than you would like to receive.
Let's say you are trying to sell a widget and you would like to get $ 100 for the widget.
If you want to use the principle of reciprocation, then you should commence by requesting a little more - let's say by asking for $ 105.
If your counterparty does not agree to paying you $ 105 for the widget, then you can extend a concession by lowering your price to $ 100 in exchange for your counterparty also making a concession to you. A concession that your counterparty could make in this case could be to pay you immediately on the spot or to pay for shipping etc.
The key is for you to make the concession - don't wait for your counterparty to offer a concession. Just make sure that you use the word 'if' when you offer your concession:
"If you are prepared to pay me in cash right now, then I will reduce the price from $ 105 to $ 100". This way you give an indication to your counterparty that you are willing to be flexible and you will now significantly improve the likeliness of them also being flexible and offering a concession in return.
Just be sure to use this principle 'in the moment' whilst you are negotiating. If you walked away from a negotiation to review your proposal, your counterparty will be more likely to regard your amended offer as a new proposal, not as a concession.