Sales Negotiation Training

It’s a non-negotiable fact that when you work in sales in the 21st century, it’s imperative to strengthen your negotiation abilities and methods. Consumers are savvier than ever, and most of them are ready to stand their ground to get the best deal. If you want to close more transactions, you need to know how to prepare for each sales discussion and what a win-win result should look like. Pearl Lemon Sales offers stellar sales negotiation training to help you do that, and more.

What is Sales Negotiation?

A sales negotiation is a tactical conversation (or series of conversations) between a buyer and a seller that seeks to seal a deal. The basic purpose of the negotiation process is to create a consensus that everyone can live with.

In the majority of sales negotiations:

Buyers and sellers explain their requirements and any adjustments they may be able or willing to make.
To establish an agreement, it is frequently necessary to make concessions.
The majority of concessions are related to price or contract terms and conditions.

Sales negotiations can be a one-time event—for example, after you’ve quoted a price or submitted a contract to your prospect—or they can happen numerous times throughout the sales process. They may, in the case of subscription based products and services, need to be repeated every year, or every few months.

Key Sales Negotiation Skills Your Team Needs

Serious consumers normally come to the table with a lot of information, research, and expectations. While it’s not always simple to forecast how your conversation will turn out before you start, the more sales and negotiation skills you have, the more at ease and adaptable you’ll be.

According to research, top-performing sales negotiators are not only three times more likely to meet their pricing target, but they’re also 13 times more likely to be very happy with the negotiated outcome.

Here are some of the primary tactics taught in Pearl Lemon’s Sales Negotiation Training programs to assist your salespeople perform better as sales negotiators without being aggressive or underselling what’s on offer.

Preparing to Negotiate

Before negotiating, a salesperson must determine what their target is most likely to desire and what they are able to offer.

For example, they'll have to figure out:

Why their prospect requires what they are selling (the precise advantages it will bring)
How urgently they require it (and costs attached to not buying)
Their purchasing position (how their purchasing process works, who the decision-makers are, and whether they’ll be present) and budget

Late in the negotiation process, new and unexpected decision-makers are sometimes presented. Other departments may participate. Salespeople must also be prepared for this and understand how to adjust their tactics on the fly if it happens.

Become Better Listeners

Salespeople can TALK. But in a sales negotiation situation, they need to be even better listeners.

Being a good listener entails more than just hearing what a consumer has to say. When a sales prospect, for example, constantly brings up the subject of price, what they’re really saying is, “I have some worries.”

An effective salesperson can pick up on indications that they’re in negotiations for different reasons than might have been stated by letting their prospect lead the conversation and listening closely before asking questions.

Concerned that the goods or service will fall short of their expectations
Concerned that the company may not be able to meet their needs in the long run
Uncomfortable with the idea of having to justify or take responsibility for their purchase

These soft skills are something that even the best salespeople can lack, which is why Pearl Lemon Sales makes a point of teaching them, not just resulting in salespeople becoming better listeners, but also better at deciphering those unspoken cues too.

Objection Handling

There are many resources available for tips on dealing with rejection as a salesperson. However, learning to be a better problem solver is an important part of dealing with objections during a sales negotiation.

While it’s a good idea to come prepared with a lower-cost alternative that satisfies a prospect’s needs, a skilled salesperson should always be looking for ways to add value to their original offering. Offering a discounted price should be last on their list.

The majority of sales objections occur because they conflict with the buyer’s goals. We train salespeople how to lead the sales negotiation toward ways that both salesperson and prospect can achieve their goals. The result? More sales, fewer discounts and better customer relations.

Emotional Control

It’s not uncommon for a rookie or incompetent negotiator to have a sales conversation devolve into a dispute. This means they risk losing not only the sale, but also the client—and any chance of forming a mutually beneficial long-term relationship.

Good sales negotiators maintain their calm and stay grounded no matter how agitated the prospect sitting across from them is, and make the conversation as light and amicable as possible. It’s another soft skill that most sales training programs don’t teach, but we make sure we do because we know how crucial it is.

We also teach salespeople how to determine when it’s time to walk away. In some sales negotiations, simply stating that you’re prepared to walk away is enough to gain the other party’s cooperation. If not, it may prevent a company from becoming trapped in a bad sales relationship.

As part of the negotiation framework, we train salespeople how to always work to create relationships, identify customer needs, and provide solutions. However, we also teach them how to recognize when a conversation has devolved into a waste of everyone’s time.

A successful sales negotiation is one in which both parties leave the table satisfied and looking forward, rather than a “winner takes all” situation. We provide salespeople with the tools and abilities they need to succeed every time, even if a sale isn’t the final result that time around.

Ready to get started?

You could be wasting time and money on sales activities that never seem to result in more deals if you don’t improve your sales teams’ negotiation abilities and techniques.

Sales Negotiation Training FAQs

What is sales negotiation training?

Sales negotiation training involves a discussion between two parties, the buyer and the seller, with the goal of closing a deal which is beneficial to both parties. Its purpose is not necessarily to get the lowest price, and both parties don’t necessarily even need to reach an agreement. The negotiations are used for everyone involved to determine whether or not they should do business with each other. If a deal is made it should ensure profits for the seller and satisfaction for the customer, accounting for the needs of both the buyer and the seller.

It is vital to have a strong strategy going into negotiations so you can ensure the discussions are as productive as possible.

Why are negotiation skills important in sales?

It’s very important to have strong negotiation skills in sales. It is helpful to consider and learn more about the needs of both parties, and while your opening position may be what is best for you, the other person may have a different position which works best for them. Negotiation skills help you build strong relationships with business partners and create lasting solutions which please both sides, rather than short-term solutions which may leave people feeling unhappy.

They also help to create value in contracts and help avoid disputes in business. These skills are key in bringing in more business and increasing your profitability.

What are the tools you need to be a sales negotiator?

Strong sales negotiators have a strategy and a toolset which helps their negotiations go smoothly and efficiently. It is essential to come prepared and consider what both you and your potential business partner may value, whether they are different, and how much you are willing to compromise.

Additionally if you give something up, work on what you would like to get in return for this. Feel comfortable to make your own requests, and do not falter from your goals too much. Throughout negotiations, it is important to keep the discussion light and calm. If both parties feel relaxed and comfortable, the conversation is much more likely to be productive. These skills may be easier said than done, but with practice and guidance they can be mastered.

What will you gain from this training?

Through this sales negotiation training, you will learn how to master the necessary skills including the ones mentioned above and more. You will learn about different negotiation strategies, build your personal and professional communications skills, and learn about how your negotiation skills will fit into your business model and goals. We teach salespeople how to connect with their customers, maintain their emotional control, and become better overall listeners. Often times businesses may be stuck in a relationship which no longer benefits them and we teach how to recognize when a negotiation may no longer be a viable option, and how to determine when it would be a good time to walk away.

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If you have any questions, please do get in touch with us! If you’d prefer to speak directly to a consultant, book a call!