I just finished teaching a 2 day Negotiation course for the Canadian Professional Sales Association. In our class we had 9 top notch sales professionals all dedicated to improving their skills – Congratulations!
As well, we had one buyer in the class- Rachel – also there to learn about Negotiation from the sales perspective. Of course we all gave her a hard time, being from the “dark side” and all, but, her being there was impressive and taught us all a lesson. Rachel is smart, she is learning best practices from both perspectives so she can be better at her job and she proved to be an excellent student. When was the last time you took a class focused on the buyer’s perspective?
I think its a very smart idea to equip yourself with skills from a variety of perspectives. Learning from your buyers and your customers is an excellent way to be better at your sales. This is one of the reasons I put the Powerhouse Event together with a variety of sales experts because I believe you need to learn multiple skills from multiple people.
So what did Rachel learn in our negotiation class that is applicable to all of us:
(1) Don’t take the first offer
(2) Show appreciation to your vendor – or sales person – throughout the process and create a culture of reciprocity
(3) Listen
(4) Ask questions to determine the person’s interests behind why they are offering you what they are offering
(5) Use influential language
Congratulations Rachel! By stepping out of your comfort zone and learning from “the opposite side of the desk” you have set yourself apart as a top 10% buyer! Thanks to everyone for a great 2 days. I know you can be successful if you implement the ideas we practiced!
Dedicated to increasing your sales,
Colleen
After reminding the buyer why we are there in the first place i.e. to solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity I
The course is great because we spend 1 full day preparing for the negotiation and teaching all the strategies including Give-Get, walk away points, and listening. The second day is practical role play. We spend the whole day negotiating with each other, debriefing and running through case studies at least 3 times. It’s very interesting to see how skills evolve during the day as people play both the buyer and seller role!