Our sales training blog has just been referenced by this rather nice blog site on how to break into and excel in medical device sales, Non Sterile. Although there are many skills that are required for successful sales negotiation I think their point about being in the "right frame of mind" is critical.
One of the communication skills employed by all successful salespeople at whatever point in the sale is the almost psychic ability to know what the other party is thinking. This skill, of course, is not psychic nor is it magic it is purely a matter of asking the right questions of yourself and focusing your mind.
Try asking yourself the following questions before going into a sales negotiation situation…
- What do I know about the buyer’s background?
- What is the buyer hoping for from this negotiation?
- What do I think their likely starting points and walk-aways will be?
- What games are they likely to play and what tactics are they most likely to use?
- What is the best way for me to get rapport, build a win win scenario and negotiate a win win situation for both parties?
These are not all of the question I teach people to ask on my salaes negotiation skills programmes but they are some of the main ones.
Do not expect "magical" sales negotiation results over night, that requires sales training but do know that the more you practise these techniques the better you will get at using them. This will in turn mean that the information you "discover" will be more useful and will prople you to be more successful when negotiating.
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