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 Dear Reader,
I still remember when I conducted one of the first negotiation programs for Progress-U back in 2004. I developed the program for sales people but funny enough, the first deal we got was for a purchasing team. I thought, why not, it's just at the other side of the table and the basic principles of negotiation are the same.
The workshop went well and was in a way quite insightful for me: I noticed that these buyers actually had the challenge sometimes to get the seller to sell to them? This came as a surprise to me because having been in sales (and sales / general management) all my professional life, I would have wished that buyers 'beg' me to sell to them...
What happened? This company was challenged to get vendors sell to them simply because they had quite stringent quality requirements combined with rather low quantities for this industry and at the same time couldn't pay too high prices. So not exactly an ideal customer to their vendors who loved big volumes and rather lenient quality standards.
As a result, I improvised on the spot and conducted a 2-hrs workshop on 'how to sell to the vendor to sell to us'. You see, if buyers might get into a position where they need to sell so that the vendor sells to them, then the traditional view of selling and buying stops to make sense. In negotiations, actually, both parties are selling and buying, no matter who is the 'seller' and who is the 'buyer'.
Share your comments and thoughts on my BLOG: http://progressu.blogspot.com
Let’s keep progressing!
Charlie Lang
Executive Coach and Founder of Progress-U Ltd.
Author of The Groupness Factor
Why the business world needs a Supersalesteam
By William Ho
 Download this article
 Sometimes it takes a team to complete a negotiation successfully … or does it?
You hear footsteps. You know your client’s team is coming. You are waiting with your own team.
Are you prepared, Mr. Supersalesman?*
You remember that the aim of negotiation is to explore the situation, finalize the last piece of the puzzle, and to find a win-win solution that is acceptable to all parties.
You have learned all about negotiating skills. You have been involved in many tug-of-wars. You have earned your stripes.
Each time, you have done it singlehandedly – winning or losing. However, this time, you are part of a team.
It is not surprising that you have to do this: your client’s team needs to meet the TEAM and not just you, and would like to make sure that they are dealing with the full force and support, and they want to make sure that the final negotiation is not just one decided by you but by the entire TEAM.
You realize you cannot be Mr/Ms. Everything. Oftentimes, special expertise in certain subjects is required in order to hammer out specific issues and no single person possesses all of the information required. It takes a team to negotiate well.
So you’ve brought along your manager, your technical director, your financial officer, your support staff, and even your legal advisor (you just want to make sure that the agreement does not have hidden loopholes.)
You realize that having a team for your negotiations allows you to use a group of people to capture all that is occurring. More importantly, your manager will be able to understand in person how everything will transpire, and so will your technical, finance, support and legal people – those who will be the main players in the upcoming project. You can also use the team to jointly review the moment and make better decisions instantly. After all, you want to close the deal now.
You also realize you are bringing a team that has first-hand knowledge, wisdom, skills, experience, detail and general views, diversity and creativity – in a collective way. You are also given the opportunity to demonstrate the leadership, the management, the communication and the spirit of the team. You know that although this may not yet be the closing of the deal, this team negotiation process will further reaffirm your strength and ability to deliver what will be committed.
You also know that it requires coordination.
Yes!
When you are the sole negotiator, once you know what you want to accomplish and how you are going to make it happen, then you are set. However, if you have a team, then you need to make sure that everyone in your team REALLY understands what the goals are. This can be a challenge to do, especially if your goals change during the negotiation.
You also know that each person in the room understands clearly their specific roles and their specialty area. You will let the right person respond to the right questions – and no criss-crossing or interrupting each other. Even if you find that the answers might not be exactly the right one, you don’t point out the so-called error. You supplement it; you cover it; you clarify it; and you extend it and try to bring it to the right track. You make sure that you never give the impression that you are fighting among yourselves. You never give the impression that you are not united as a team.
You come as a team: you win as a team; and you die as a team – together!
That is why you have briefed the team so well.
That is why you have shared all the relevant information carefully with the team.
That is why you have prepared the negotiation plan well. You have the goal, the structure, the bottom line, the alternatives, the BATNA (Best Alternatives To a Negotiated Agreement), even the sequences of how the negotiation should go. You have the agreement itself prepared, because you know that for every negotiation and meeting, the objective is to close.
You have almost all the questions ready, as well as how each question will be asked by which team member.
That is how you prepared the team for this meeting. Each of them knows exactly what they will be doing and know that your only objective is to achieve a clear buying decision of your buyer.
The last thing you want to happen is to have the members of your team getting confused and lost. You want to show unity. You know that negotiations are also about power. A disoriented “team” will lose that power.
Each one of you are well-prepared. You know that failing to prepare is preparing to fail. You know that the client will be bringing their best also. That is why you have all your team members prepared to answer all the anticipated questions, and with what kind of answers they will be giving.
You also know that each sales negotiation is unique. It has its own set of challenges and its own opportunities. That is why you are prepared for the unexpected. However, you have built up such a high trust level with the client that you and your TEAM will show CARE to the client.
More importantly, you trust your team.
So, to team or not to team is no longer a question; it is a reality.
And you are prepared to be a part of the team, and a successful one it will be!
* Refer to our 2010 sales article “Why the (business) world does not need Superman” http://www.progressu.com/ezine-sales-2010-3.php
For more information related to Progress-U's Stop Selling! programs including our negotiation program, please click here.
 The Author: Mr. William Ho, Executive Coach & Sales Trainer
For more information about the author of this article, click here. |
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