Want to know about sales negotiation training? There are important phases leading up to a sales negotiation but completing the sale is the goal. A salesperson’s preparedness for negotiation will ultimately determine success. The rewards trickle down throughout an organization, from closing a sale to protecting the best interests of your business, a strong negotiator is an asset.
Top Fundamentals Of Sales Negotiation Training
Ensuring each member of your sales team equipped with the skills to enter a sales negotiation not only achieves the goal of the sale, but instills confidence in your team members and your clients. The following seven characteristics are the fundamentals of successful sales negotiation.
Selling To A Specified Target Audience
When a salesperson establishes a relationship with a business, they often deal with more than one person. Connecting with the gatekeeper is the primary step to making a sale. Salespersons have to develop strategies for locating and gaining access to the decision-makers.
Your team needs to be sure that a prospect has decision-making authority in their area of operations; otherwise, a sales rep may end up negotiating with someone who does not have the authority to sign-off on a purchase order. Negotiations can extend unnecessarily for weeks or months because the target was off.
Identification Of Customer Need
If a prospect reaches negotiation, there has been a lot of information exchanged throughout the process. Salespersons must stay focused to prevent this influx of information from clouding the conversation.
Sales personnel need to bring the conversation back home by conveying how product or service features convert into benefits for the end-user. A client will not subscribe to a service if they are not convinced it provides an accurate solution for their needs.
Building A Strong Rapport & Relationship
Negotiations feel adversarial by nature. By building an early rapport sales reps can reduce the possibility of friction down the line. Prospects do not want to feel like a salesperson is trying to win a negotiation; they want confidence that a sales rep is seeking a solution that works for both parties. Negotiations flow more smoothly when trust exists throughout the relationship.
Accurately Depicting The Value Of The Sale
Emotions can influence negotiation but it is difficult to argue against data, making it imperative that sales representatives are able to project the value of a product. When prospects can place a dollar value on a product, they can overcome biases holding up a negotiation.
Sales negotiation training teaches sales personnel how to accurately depict the value of a sale. For example, a logistics sales representative may be aware that a prospect is losing revenue due to late deliveries. If the salesperson can demonstrate the ability to reduce the occurrence of late delivery, the prospect can calculate what the means for their bottom line. The Harvard Program on Negotiation notes that people are more motivated to avoid losses than they are to achieve gains.
Being Ready To Offer Alternatives
Sales personnel need to prepare options for potential clients or partners. If the sales process has reached the negotiation stage, the prospect has shown significant interest, but without alternatives available, a salesperson could lose all momentum.
When investing time and energy into negotiation, ensure a sales rep remains agile in their offerings. Clients are looking for a solution that addresses their needs specifically; it is okay to remain flexible in negotiation as long as a rep understands where to draw the line.
Knowing When To Close
The instinct of knowing when to close is crucial for any salesperson; sales reps that are unable to recognize when to close risk giving up too much ground or missing the opportunity altogether. An effective training program will educate and evaluate a trainee’s ability to spot the right moment and make the final push.
Knowing When To Bow Out
We’ve all dealt with difficult prospects, but some prospects can be outright unreasonable or irrational. If a potential customer is making demands that you cannot meet, it is time to bow out of the negotiation.
The decision to walk away varies by case and may depend on factors like the price of initial sale or value of long-term business. Your salesperson’s time is valuable and so is any opportunity they may pass on otherwise spending time with difficult prospects. In addition to saving resources, the threat of walking away has influence, sometimes motivating a prospect to re-evaluate their demands and come to a reasonable decision.
Speak With A Sales Negotiation Consultant
Negotiation can be intimidating, especially for sales reps who are in the early stages of their career. Organizations that invest in sales negotiation training prepare their salespersons to close sales. At RCG Workgroup, our experts are trained in sales negotiation. If you want to build a successful sales negotiation training program, we can help. Contact a Sales Negotiation Consultant today for more information. You can reach us by phone at (703) 939-9773, or contact us online.
