If
your sales negotiations center around price only, it is time to smarten up,
improve your negotiating skills and realize more favorable results.
To
get away from the focus on price, try the following tips:
- One size does not fit all. Plan ahead by thinking creatively about what your customer needs and wants and about what you can give besides a better price. Perhaps a guarantee or more lenient payment terms or faster delivery or a designated contact/problem solver or a quantity discount?
- Learn what you can. Ask open-ended questions to gain as much information as you can from your customer. The more you discover about the situation, the more options you have to make a mutually beneficial deal.
- Focus on the relationship. Remember that you want a long-term and satisfied customer, not just a one-time purchase…so keep calm and open to suggestions that benefit both of you.
- Articulate value before cost. Tie your product/service directly to what is important to the customer. If you do not effectively establish value, you will almost always get pounded on cost.
There
are many factors besides price that can be negotiable. Once you become adept at
trading on them and clearly establishing value in the eyes of your buyer, price
should become less of an issue.
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