Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/129161
•pg_14-18__BMT_pg3-58 4/30/13 7:52 PM Page 16 illustration by: Aaron Rutten PREPARING FOR A TOUGH NEGOTIATION (10 Tips That Can Help) BY VELTON W. SHOWELL III a sales person over the last 29 years I have learned a lot about Negotiating with customers. Some Negotiations are smooth and go forward without much deliberation, other times the process can be a long difficult process. Preparation is a necessity no matter which occurs. Negotiation is your opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to long-term relationships to maximize value for both parties. Negotiation is beyond price… it includes the entire value proposition. Practiced and applied, negotiation skills can increase the level of trust and credibility you and your company have with your prospects and customers. Tough negotiations are often a part of the selling process and preparation is the key to success. Here as some important factors to help guide any sales person through the process. As Ẅ Do your homework or advanced preparation. Ask questions before it's time to negotiate. Preparation is the most important attribute to success in any arena. If you wait until the negotiation begins, you're going to get answers that are intentionally limited. Your counterpart or the buyer now has the upper hand and advantage in the discussions and negotiations. During the negotiation, people withhold information. Before a negotiation, ideally in a non-threatening needs assessment, learn all you can about what the buyer values and what alternatives the buyer has to doing business with you. ẅ Understand what you are up against, know what the other party values. We all have things that we value in business as well as in life. It's 16 absolutely critical to understand what the other party values. Don't make assumptions. Assumptions are usually based on emotional inferences and are non-factual conclusions. Different people value different things at different stages in their lives. What mattered in the last round of negotiations may not matter as much this time. Do your research, ask questions, test the waters to probe and ascertain what matters most to the other party. Ẇ Needs versus wants versus nice to haves. Be prepared to anchor what matters most to you. Both sides have needs, wants, and dreams in any negotiation. It is important that you understand what is most important to you and your organization prior to entering into the negotiation. Once you better understand what is most important, then you can prepare based on what you can negotiate from a position of strength protecting the areas that are most important to your organization. Do internal research; determine what matters most to others in your own organization. When you know what the terms need to be, you will be in a position to make the first offer and anchor any counter-offers that follow. For the most important terms of the agreement, it is usually better to make the first offer. Having a prepared strategy insures your ability to negotiate and avoid most critical areas that may force you to create an impasse. ẇ Time can be your ally or your advisory, take control of it, manage urgency in your favor. Most buyers understand the selling process enough to know that the best time to negotiate with a sales person is in the last two weeks of any B M & T ••• March/April 2013 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com