Guide to successful negotiation
Getting past rejection may not happen overnight, but it is certainly possible. In fact, what you really need is a guide that will help your sales team negotiate successfully. Providing them with tips that keep them focused on the objectives of the call… for example… making a sale; getting the gatekeeper on side; or obtaining the name of the decision maker. These suggestions will go a long way to encourage them to persist and not get disillusioned and despondent too quickly.
Check out these 5 tips.
Here are some great ways that you can share with your sales or customer service call handling teams to improve their negotiation skills:
- Believe in what you are selling.
Whether you are selling a product, or a service, belief is an important element of a successful sales negotiation. If you do not believe, then the chances are you will not be taken seriously. The person that you are negotiating with needs to feel that you believe in what you are selling, and a clear and confident mind set is good preparation for the task at hand.
- Prepare before you negotiate.
Once you believe in what you are selling, it is time to prepare your negotiation game plan. Choose the solution that is likely to get you the best results and think about any further information that you may need which will steer the negotiation to a successful conclusion. Product knowledge has got to be a critical part of this approach.
- Use the ‘yes ladder’.
The ‘yes ladder’ is a negotiation technique used to get a person to answer ‘yes’ to specific negotiation questions. The idea is to ask simple questions at the start of the negotiation that makes it a no brainer for them to reply ‘yes’. They get so comfortable saying ‘yes’ that when you get to the more challenging part of the negotiation they often continue to say ‘yes’ which results in closing the sale. When my clients use this technique, they increase their sales conversions by anything from 5-20%. The ‘yes ladder’ is about building trust and if you deliver on your promises then you will more likely win more business when you negotiate in the future.
- Remember your worth.
Some salespeople feel inadequate when negotiating a sale with someone that they deem to be more knowledgeable, intelligent, or experienced than they are. It is important to remember that you have a specific skill set, after all not everyone can do what you do, knows what you know and can negotiate like you do. Negotiation has more to do with self-worth than intelligence. Make sure that you do not let feelings of inferiority prevent you from negotiating.
- Don’t confuse rejection with failure.
Not every negotiation will result in you making a sale or making an appointment. It is important to remember that very few, if any, salespeople have a 100% negotiation success rate. I think that it is important to accept that your sales proposals will sometimes be rejected. This does not mean you have failed! It just gives you the opportunity to fine tune your approach next time. Experience and feedback are a great way to tweak your negotiation skills.
Summary
Rejection is a natural fall out of any aspect of negotiations…. in fact, it is a part of life. Your telesales or customer service advisors can expect to face rejection from time to time because not everybody sees things the way they do. But that is what makes negotiating so interesting!
Remind your team how boring selling would be if they did not have to deal with rejection? It would limit creativity and imagination. In fact, many of the salespeople that I train get the biggest buzz when they make a sale to someone who initially rejected their proposal.
If you would like my help with improving your team’s negotiation skills please call me on 020 8337 5937 or send an email to gary@garymorgan.coach