Last week I was talking with a new client about the excuses his salespeople consistently give him when they failed to negotiate and win a deal. The excuse he hears more than any other was “Our price was too high.” This is a common excuse and misconception among salespeople. The reality is that price is almost never the real issue to why a sale was lost. What is most likely true is that the opportunity wasn’t properly qualified, or the salesperson got outsold by the competition! Negotiating done well should satisfy both parties, but negotiating done poorly can end in a lost deal.
Here are the three most common negotiating mistakes we see consistently being made:
- Negotiating too soon- Salespeople too often fail to truly qualify the opportunity in the selling process before entering into negotiating. In Sandler terms, qualifying during the selling process means quantifying the impact of the pain, understanding what time, money and resources the prospect is willing to invest, and fully understand the decision-making process. If a negotiation begins without all of these things understood, the prospect has the leverage and the salesperson is not in control.
- Talking too Much- In negotiating knowledge is power. It is impossible to gain information from a prospect if our lips are moving. Salespeople need to be consistently asking probing open-ended questions to gather as much information as possible.
- Being Unprepared- Salespeople rely on experience and skills instead of preparing for any and all possible scenarios we could expect. Before walking into the negotiation, the salesperson should know what concessions they are willing to give and what their walk away deal breakers are. Those scenarios should be pre-thought out and role played ahead of time.
The goal of negotiating is to reach an agreement that satisfies both parties and moves the relationship forward. Each side feels that the other was fair. In order to achieve this, each side needs to uncover a better understanding of what the other really wants. Avoid these three mistakes and start closing more deals.
If you or your sales team could use some negotiating tune up be sure to register for our upcoming negotiating workshop on November 29th from 8-11.
