All sales reps will have to negotiate at some point in their career. It can be an essential stage in many deal lifecycles.

When faced with this inevitability, it’s vital they’ve been prepped to perform.

Nothing slays deal momentum faster than clumsy negotiations.

In addition to a bank of negotiation skills, reps need to understand negotiation strategies.

These provide a roadmap to how negotiations can play out in any given scenario, and will be a helpful framework a rep can rely on to navigate toward a win win.

Want all of the ideas and much more detail? Read The Complete Guide to Sales Negotiation.

Follow the 80/20

Negotiation strategies are not exclusively, and maybe not even primarily, about what happens in the back and forth. They can be prepared well in advance. In fact, the 80/20 rule of negotiation stipulates just that:

Reps should spend about 80% of their time preparing for the negotiation, then 20% in the actual negotiation.

This is a customer-centric negotiation strategy.

How?

Well, the rep isn’t spending all of that preparation time vocalizing in the mirror and practicing their gotcha moment. 

They’re spending it in extended discovery and research about what the customer needs, about what the tangibles of the deal will be, and positioning around various possible outcomes.

It’s a valuable way to frame the whole process.

Observe the Golden Rule

Do unto others, right?

In negotiation as in life, yes, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

But the Golden Rule of negotiation is different.

It’s this: don’t let negotiations become about a single issue.

Reps lose in singularity. They lose when there is one battle to fight and one hill to die on. This tunnel vision derails negotiations. It requires a skilled rep to help a prospect or future customer zoom out, remaining in the big picture.

There can be a “main thing,” that reflects the customer’s highest priorities, be it price or features or timelines. But that main thing can’t be the only thing, or everyone will lose the forest for the trees.

A key negotiation strategy reps can practice is to frame things appropriately, keep multiple elements in play, and focus on the goal of emerging with all parties happy about the outcome.

Exercise Emotional Intelligence

This may seem tactical, but we assure you there is a great deal of strategic thinking in how a rep uses (or doesn’t use) emotion during a negotiation.

The value of emotional intelligence is vast. Reps employ it from the first cold outreach and its value only builds as rapport is established, familiarity bred, and common ground acquired.

As a negotiation strategy, emotional intelligence becomes tactical in many ways:

Listening skills — Reps who can listen will learn more during every interaction. They’ll also watch their win rates increase as they begin to decode the nuances of how people are behaving and what they are communicating (not just what they’re saying out loud). There is no substitute or parallel for the power of listening skills in negotiations.

Providing space and silence when needed for reflection — The strategic pause, the meaningful eye contact, the withdrawal at the right moment; all of these are nuanced components of skilled negotiations.

Emotional control — Self control is vital for any negotiation. People who can manage and control their emotions will succeed in life. Reps who can do this will keep their anger, fear, frustration, and other possible feelings out of the mix, or at least under control, while negotiations play out.

Reflective communication and mirroring — This is a big skill many professional negotiators learn, and it’s one that reps can learn too, if they have the discernment and emotional savvy to observe at an elite level. Being reflective instantly bridges humans: great mirroring can clarify what is being said, add more information to a conversation, and fill in the blanks that support everyone being on the same page.

Reps who are negotiating in an emotionally intelligent way won’t sacrifice the relationship on the altar of the negotiation. They understand the long-term value of these customers (perhaps more relevant than ever), and will strive for shared understanding and amicable outcomes.

A Word About the Worst Negotiation Strategies

If there are “best” negotiation strategies… there are bound to be “worst” ones. While most of these have faded from popular use, it’s important that reps understand where NOT to go when honing in on their negotiation strategies and styles:

Accommodating — Some reps think being Other-CenteredⓇ means bend-over-backwards and just accommodate every step of the way. This will yield a lose-win outcome, which no one wants. Doing this is not other-centered. It’s shortsighted and won’t get a rep what they want.

Competing — Many reps actually conflate negotiation and competition, bringing a warlike mentality to the negotiation table. Put plainly: this does no one any good. The goal is never conflict or conquest. It’s cooperation.

Avoiding — On the flip side, you may have reps who are more of the conflict-averse types, who are terrified of negotiation, and who come armed to the hilt with concessions galore. Obviously this is a poor approach. The rep will lose. The customer will lose respect. It flies in the face of building a long-term, trust-based relationship.

Negotiation done right will bring everyone to the same side, gathered to solve the same problem, just working out the details.

The Best Negotiation Strategies are Continuous

Reps who artificially compartmentalize negotiation are missing out on a chance to talk value and priorities and negotiables every step of the way.

From the earliest days of prospecting (finding out what’s on a prospect’s whiteboard) to the day a deal is done, reps can be setting the stage for great, productive negotiations.

Mindset is everything, which is why that’s where we start. To learn more about the ASLAN sales training programs, connect with our team anytime.