Top 8 Essential Negotiation Skills For Salespeople

In the rush of winning more sales, after a lot of emails, calls, and follow-ups, finally, you have closed the most awaited deal. “Let’s sign the deal, ” a most delighted moment for you has also come.
But, soon this happiness gets vaporized when another email came from the client that’s “Need to discuss something more before we proceed to sign the contract.”
Definitely, it’s hinting towards negotiation. Now, the sales person have to sit on the negotiator’s seat to better manage the expectations and customer value alongside preserving the profits to seal the deal in negotiation without making the things go into haywire.
Acquiring the negotiation skills is very important in the world to keep a fine balance between what businesses want and what do you want. If you sincerely want to do the business and skyrocket your career as a sales person, here are the 8 secrets that you should ponder and learn to boost your negotiation skills:

Don’t Negotiate On Price At First

Before final commitment, never define the price, and concession by yourself in the sales call. Instead, negotiation is the last stage of the selling phase wherein you have the opportunity to persuade the client without making any compromises with your bottom line.
Also, the services you offer and the solid portfolio may impress the client after the discussion and they may get ready to go at your rates.

Never Negotiate With Yourself

Certainly, winning the deal matters a ton, but it should not come at the cost of your profits and ethics. You need to define the terms and conditions, policies and the price at the below which the deal should not be acceptable.
Remember, when you are making the compromise, it means you are actually truncating what you will earn. So, strictly refuse the proposals, else it manipulates your reputation and leaves you unhappy at the end of the day.

Never Accept The First Offer

According to a psychological research, “The people automatically start to work around the first number they are presented with.”
Be prepared for negotiations, don’t accept the price towel that client throws at you. Instead, discuss with the client to justify the price against the brand value as giving away the invariable discount hurts the company image.
It insists the client to think twice whether the company is a right fit for them or not. Also, they may start investigating about your offerings and services.

Make The First Offer That’s Subtle

Initially, making the offer that’s too high has its own pros and cons. It depends upon the perception whether how the client takes it. Well, in general, the psychology says the high-priced items are considered as valuable and less priced items are less desirable.
So, the best way is to quote the high price, but it should not be much aggressive that scare your clients. Pitch your offer that clients can probably think to afford and move ahead confidently.

Listen More

The very common statement- “Listening is the 90% of the communication,” that you may have heard of most people saying, but it really holds a lot of significance. During the negotiation, it’s imperative to listen to the clients, else you are not able to answer the prospect’s questions rightly, and which may be treated as disrespectful by the clients.
Also, by asking open-ended questions, you will get a chance to get more details, so let the prospects finish and meanwhile, you will get the time to evaluate what’s their interest is in.

No free gifts

Offering freebies in the guise of cash discount is a good alternative, but only up to some extent. It’s not essential to offer the tangible gifts, while you can trick the clients by offering shorter payment terms, or additional services at low cost as a gift. This way you will get the return in the exchange of concession, which is a win-win situation for both parties.
The cash discounts actually hurt what you will get in the end, so the alternative solutions are the best that brings a better deal on the table and push the prospects to kick off the project.
Remember! Never palm off the prospects just for negotiation. It impacts the business credibility and trustworthiness.

Don’t Rush For Quick Sales

Negotiation is not a zero sum game where winning is everything. It’s a ruthless practice if you are employing as a sales person. On the other hand, negotiation is a mutually beneficial relationship
The prospect you are dealing with is not the last project on the planet, for whom you are ready to bear any mess they create. Maintain your respect and never fulfill the unreasonable demands of the clients just to close the deal. Down the road, when the prospects want major changes in the contract, huge bargaining, and lacks respect for you, it’s better to walk away.
Instead of running after such prospects, get rid of them for your own sake because it’s a fruitless chase in which at the end, no one will be satisfied.

Show Benefits Of Service

Every time, it is not important to negotiate, while the track record of the delighted customers speaks a ton about the operations and the outcomes. But, the prospects before making a justification and quantifying the services you provide, anticipates you to shed some light on the services you provide.
Don’t brag, but speak the truth and let the prospects visualize the array of benefits they will get once they teamed up with your company. Sometimes, the benefits outweigh the negotiation and client is ready to sign the deal off the bat.

Final thoughts

A negotiation is a form of objection handling technique where the sales person can turn the “NO” into “YES” skillfully to clinch the sale. All are not born-negotiators, but the skill can be empowered radically with practice only when you never afraid to negotiate. Presently, honing negotiation skills has become a must-have for the sales person, no matter what industry they belong to.
In which spirit you are? Ready to get rid of negotiation nerves? If so, master the 8 negotiation skills that actually define your success in the future.