|
STOP SELLING E-ZINE - ISSUE NO.67/ SEPTEMBER 2010
|
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'.
Let’s keep progressing!
 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.
| 
