The 2 Best Negotiation Tactics You Never Knew Existed

The fighters.

The contenders.

The forceful.

These are the reps you want in the ring when it comes to negotiation, right?

Turns out, that may not be as sure a bet as you think.

In fact, some of the best negotiation tactics have nothing to do with assertion at all.

Allow us to explain.

Buyers Don’t Want to Play the Game Anymore

An analyst at Forrester identified these dynamics in the B2B sales landscape:

1. Buyers are in control and want to stay that way — they don’t want to leap hurdles and have lengthy, combative conversations. They just want what they want when they want it. 
2. Attention is at a premium — everyone wants to get it and no one wants to give it. 

In short: people are unreceptive. They’re skeptical of sales reps. They’re hesitant to even get into a conversation, much less see one through to a deal.

This is a two-sided fatigue, by the way.

In the early fall of 2022, a Gartner survey indicated that as many as 90% of B2B sellers felt burnt out, experiencing more drag than drive due to the prevalent resistance of buyers.

So the general feeling on both sides is:

Can we not make this more complicated than it needs to be?

Can this just be easy?

To which we say: we’ve been preparing reps for this very moment.

A moment when humanity wins out and we all play the same side and everyone wins.

Yes, even in negotiations.

Here are the two negotiation tactics that make that possible.

1. Negotiation Tactic 1 = Drop the Rope™ 

Reps Don’t Have to Fight to Win

The whole “opposing sides” mentality is very last decade. 

We teach a principle called Drop the Rope™, instructing reps through common negotiation scenarios like this:

— Discussing a contract clause? Don’t dig your heels in and yank. Drop the rope and seek to understand.

— Working through the details of a possible discount or concession? Don’t “my way or the highway.” Drop the rope and understand why this is being asked for and what’s needed to keep the conversation flowing.

— In the final hour when a new stakeholder has a fresh opinion? Don’t insist on pushing through on the agreed-upon terms. If this person is important, take the long-view (keeping relationships and retention in mind) and welcome them to learn their perspective.

At every juncture, reps can either keep pulling… or drop the rope.

The tough mentality of negotiation is problematic in this sales climate. It may be safe to say its usefulness has expired altogether. Instead, reps need to be meaningfully, enthusiastically engaged, without a warlike winners and losers paradigm.

The best negotiation tactic you never knew existed is alarmingly simple:

Drop the rope.

Watch the other side do the same (because, why would they stand there and hold a rope?).

Then advance negotiations with objectivity and the shared goal of consensus.

2. Negotiation Tactic 2 = Go Other-CenteredⓇ 

Reps Aren’t the Main Character

Another revolutionary idea in sales negotiations requires reps to shift focus.

Historically, reps would get hyped and confidently enter a negotiation room. Maybe even a little swag. They were ready to show their stuff: all their careful research, all their best arguments, all their most winning one-liners.

Here’s the problem: the context we set at the beginning of this article makes it clear — buyers aren’t buying tickets to the rep show. No matter how charismatic that rep may be. 

They want simple. They want authentic. They want easy.

And, like all humans, their attention will be guaranteed if it’s about them.

Even in negotiations, reps can use an other-centered framework. 

As it relates to negotiations, other-centeredness looks like this:

• Not just tapping into the intellectual dynamics in play, but the emotional ones. When buyers are emotionally unreceptive, it’s a non-starter. That’s the first area to address and it requires that a rep bring full focus to that individual or group and begin to unpack their desires and needs.
• Leading the way through any conversation, even difficult ones, with what’s best for the buyer as the chief priority.
• Positioning products or services as holistic solutions, connected to specific, identified points of need in the buyer’s business.

The goal is to serve, not to sell.

Or, in negotiation terms:

The goal is to serve, not to fight.

To be clear: other-centeredness is far from passive. In fact, it creates a relationship in which the rep becomes a trusted advisor. Their motives are no longer suspect. The buyer believes (as they should) that the rep has their best interests in mind.

This changes what happens at the negotiation table. 

It turns you and me into a we. It builds trust. The rep no longer has to fight for every little detail. The buyer trusts them that what’s on the table and what’s decided is ultimately about what’s best for them. 

It quite literally changes the game.

Even the Best Negotiation Tactics are Just One Part of Sales Skills

We just talked about two negotiation tactics that may very well be categorized as soft skills. 

Two soft skills for negotiation that are carried out by reps who have a well-developed social emotional acumen. 

Let us assure you: these are two vital traits your reps need to succeed.

But getting reps to this new elite level is not a one-day seminar kind of thing

To equip reps with these negotiation tactics, you need more than sales training. 

You need transformation. 

Because so many of these practices fly against the traditional beliefs reps carry. They think it’s about winning. They think it’s about them. All of this has to be corrected before record-breaking progress can begin.

You need a team you can trust to help your reps change the way they think.

We are that team.

With over 25 years of experience, ASLAN has thoughtfully and strategically developed programs that don’t just give you another acronym to memorize or another formula to follow. We launch a full scale revolution, enabling your reps to think differently and perform at a new level. Connect with us to learn more.