Sales Negotiation Training | Do not Negotiate Too Early in the Selling Phase

Selling and negotiating are separate phases of the sales process. Selling is the phase in which you determine if the customer wants to do business with you and/or you want to do business with the customer. You identify customer needs, build trust, and show the value you bring in meeting customer needs. Negotiating is the phase in which price, terms, and profit are determined.

Any time you are discussing price or terms, you have moved into the negotiating phase of the call. In the negotiating phase, people are afraid of being taken and, therefore, can feel defensive. During negotiation, it is usually too late to identify needs, build trust, or gather the kind of key information that would have been readily available in the selling phase.

It is fairly common for a customer early in the selling phase to say, “Just tell me a price before anything else.” Before discussing price or terms, ask yourself two questions. Do you know the customer’s needs? Does the customer know the value you bring to the table?

If the answer to either question is no, hold off. But don’t say no. Say, “Yes, so we can discuss price, may I ask a few questions and get the details I need?” If a customer won’t give you information, it is risky for you to give pricing, either specific or ballpark. Instead, remain consultative and repeat your need for information. If the customer wants pricing information early in the sales process, start the trading process by trading price information for customer information. Unless you understand needs, you won’t be able to connect price or terms with value to the customer.

Avoid negotiating until you understand the customer’s needs and you have shown your value. Make sure you are ready to negotiate: know needs and position value before getting to price or terms.

If the customer makes demands, go beneath the demand to get to the need. Why? Because there is usually only one way to satisfy a demand, but there are multiple ways to satisfy a need.

Use negotiation strategies to preserve your price and terms. Always discuss price or terms in the context of value to the customer.

Finally, remain consultative. Even with an adversarial negotiator, don’t become adversarial. You don’t have to be adversarial to be in control.