Successful Business Negotiations
Knowing how to negotiate as well as knowing how to lead is of vital importance for your business because you will need to master these skills throughout your business life.
Remember that a lack of leadership or a bad negotiation can represent great losses for your company.
The best thing you can do for your business and your life is to learn to negotiate correctly so that both parties are satisfied with the result.
It is also ideal that you surround yourself with a team that knows effective negotiation tactics because in a company a negotiation is an everyday thing.
What is negotiation?
Negotiation is a problem-solving process in which two or more people voluntarily discuss their differences and try to reach a joint decision about their common concerns.
All people have the potential to learn to negotiate and be good at it. All you need to do is identify the personal skills you have to negotiate and practice.
Yes! Like any skill, you need the practice to be excellent.
Why do we negotiate?
There are several reasons why we need to negotiate, among them we can have the following:
- We want to achieve a goal.
- Something is at stake.
- Because there are several parties involved in decision making.
- Because the parties involved have different points of view and need to reach an agreement.
How do we negotiate?
We use all the tools that we have at our disposal to negotiate, that is, we act based on our cultural background, our instincts, our experiences, personal skills, and knowledge.
But remember that the skills used to manage conflict can be learned and once you master them you will be able to initiate a positive negotiation and respond in the best way when someone challenges you.
How to handle objections?
There are several ways to evaluate an objection that falls into one of these 3 categories:
- When an objection is not sincere
- Sincere but unfounded objection
- A sincere but well-founded objection
Insincere objection
An insincere objection is an excuse to express rejection or indifference that results from a lack of knowledge or preconceptions. The best way to handle it is to anticipate the game and provide all the information regarding the product or service you offer.
You should also try to discover through dialogue why your proposal does not interest them and try to add or offer something that makes them change their mind.
Sincere but unfounded objection
To handle a sincere but unfounded objection, what you must do is provide information and proof of what you are saying so that your potential clients realize that their objection has a solution.
Sincere and well-founded objection
You also can use your power of persuasion in addition to your negotiating power.
If your potential client has a sincere and well-founded objection, the best thing you can do is also respond honestly and, above all, try to find when would be the perfect time to offer your solution again in the case now is not the time.
Types of objections
Next, we leave you several negotiation tactics that you can apply to 5 types of objections that your potential consumers or people with whom you are having the conversation can make you so as not to make mistakes that sabotage the negotiation.
Objection 1: It’s too expensive
If the person with whom you are negotiating tells you that something is very expensive, it is because they believe that there will not be a return on the investment. When a prospect brings up that there is not enough budget, it is because they are not seeing the value of your product or service for their benefit.
In this case, remember that the ability of a person to allocate a budget to something that he values is there.
It is your job to position your product or service in the mind of your potential client as something indispensable, something that will allow them to meet their goals or objectives and that in case they do not acquire it there is no other alternative, they will not be able to achieve it.
Objection 2: Call me again in 6 months
If a potential client cuts off the conversation or tells you to call them later, it is because this person is not feeling the urge to acquire the solution you are offering.
What you can do in this case is deflect the objection by asking what their priorities are at the moment and you can use case studies to illustrate the value of your offer about their needs.
Objection 3: I’ve never heard of you
When you are just starting and you are a small business, many people can take your lack of experience in the market or not having heard from you on the negative side.
This is how when they mention it, they mean that they are not sure if you can handle their problem and offers them the appropriate solution.
Your response to this objection should be based on your past experiences.
Show them your products or services that have helped companies like theirs and emphasize how valuable it can be to work with small companies as their services are personalized and focus more on customer satisfaction.
Objection 4: It is not what we are looking for
If your potential buyer tells you that they do not need your solution, it is because deep down they think that no problem needs to be solved or any pain that needs to be alleviated.
In his eyes the outlook is good and your products or services are not going to add anything new to his business or his person.
The best way to deal with a situation like this is to ask probing questions to discover the exact point where there is a point of pain that needs immediate attention.
Objection 5: That does not correspond to me
On many occasions, the person with whom you are negotiating is not the one who makes decisions within the organization and when they tell you things such as that they are not the person authorized to make purchases or make final decisions in the company, it may mean that they do not feel comfortable referring to you. to you and your company to high-ranking people.
The best way to deal with this situation is to instill confidence that you and your team are the right people for the job and in this way get them to introduce you to the people who do make decisions to negotiate directly with them.
Remember that the correct way to negotiate is always being well prepared, knowing who the person or people with whom you are going to negotiate is, knowing their needs well, and trying to approach a balance point in which both are satisfied.
