Most successful negotiators recognise that the way people involved in negotiations behave does not always reflect their true feelings or intentions. Today, I am going to discuss negotiating tactics that may be used by you or on you. Whether or not you choose to use these tactics, it is vital to understand:

• Tactics work

• They can be being used on you, and can be used by you

• Once they are recognised as tactics, their effects are reduced or eliminated

You may feel that there is no need in your particular case to negotiate or resort to tactics in negotiation -this relly is a matter of personal choice.

In general, tactics are used to gain a short-term advantage during the negotiation and are designed to lower your expectations of reaching a successful conclusion.

There are many tactics available to negotiators and here are just a few you may recognise.

Pre-Conditioning:

This can begin before you even get together or start your negotiations with the other party. Let us take a sales example:

You telephone for the appointment and the other side says aggressively:

“Don’t bother coming if you are going to tell me about price increases. You’ll be wasting your time and I will be forced to speak to your competitors”.

When you do arrive you are kept waiting in reception for half an hour, without being told why. As you walk through the door into the other person’s office they indicate for you to sit down but they don’t look up. Instead, they sit leafing through your competitor’s brochure, in silence, ignoring your efforts to make conversation.

You are given an uncomfortable low chair to sit in that happens to be directly in line with the sun shining into the office. At this stage, how confident do you feel?

The Monkey On The Back:

Some negotiators have the irritating habit of handing their problems to you so that they become your problems. This is the “monkey on their back” that they want you to carry around for them.

A classic example is the person who says, “I have only got £10,000 in my budget”.

This is often used tactically to force a price reduction. Here is what you can do.

When one side says “I have only £10,000 in budget”, look concerned and say something like:

“That is a problem. As you are no doubt aware, the cost of our systems can be anything up to £20,000 and I really want to help you choose the best system that meets your needs. Does that mean that if one of our systems has everything you are looking for but costs £20,000, you would rather I didn’t show it to you?”

The “monkey” has been returned and they have to make a choice. If the objection is genuine and the budget figure is correct, you must try to look for an alternative that meets your needs as well as theirs.

If they genuinely can only spend £10,000 that is not a tactic but the truth. In dealing with tactics the first decision you must make is whether it is a tactic or a genuine situation. If it is genuine, you have a problem to solve, rather than a tactic to overcome.

The Use Of Higher Authority:

This can be a most effective way to reduce pressure in the negotiation by introducing an unseen third party and can also be effective in bringing the negotiation to a close.

“I need to have this agreed by my Board of Directors.” “If they agree to the terms we have discussed, do we have a deal?”

However, be careful to use this device sparingly so that the other side does not begin to feel you have no decision making authority yourself.

One way of countering this tactic is to say before the bargaining begins: “If this proposal meets your needs, is there any reason you would not give me your decision today?”

If the other side still wishes to resort to higher authority, appeal to their ego by saying: “Of course, they will go along with your recommendations, won’t they? Will you be recommending this proposal?”

Nibbling:

Negotiations can be a tiring process. As the point draws near when an agreement is likely, both sides exhibit a psychological need to reach agreement and get on with something else.

You are very vulnerable as the other side reaches for their pen to sign the order form or contract, to concede items that don’t significantly affect the final outcome. “Oh, by the way, this does include free delivery, doesn’t it?” or “Oh, by the way, the price of the car does include a full tank of petrol?”

Nibbles work best when they are small and asked for at the right psychological moment. Like peanuts, eat enough of them and they get fattening.

Good negotiators will often keep back certain items on their wants list until the very last minute, when the other party is vulnerable. Watch out for this.

The Good Guy And The Bad Guy:

You may have come across this tactic before or else seen it used in films or on television. This is a tactic designed to soften you up in the negotiation.

For example, you are negotiating the renewal of your service contract with the Buying Director and his Finance Director. You present your proposal and the Buying Director suddenly gets angry and walks out in disgust muttering to himself about how unfair you have been and how the relationship is well and truly over.

You pick up your briefcase and are being shown the door when the Finance Director smiles at you sympathetically and says:

“I’m terribly sorry about that. He is under a lot of pressure. I would like to help you renew your contract, but he really will not consider the price you have suggested. Why don’t I go and talk to him for you and see if we can agree a compromise? What is the bottom line on the contract? If you give me your very best price, I will see what I can do”.

The best way of dealing with this tactic is to recognise the game that is being played and assess exactly what the quality of the relationship is. You may be able to say something like:

“Come off it, you are using good guy, bad guy. You are a superb negotiator, but let’s sit down and discuss the proposal realistically”.

If you don’t have this kind of relationship, stand firm and insist on dealing with the bad guy, or else bluff yourself and give a figure that is within your acceptable range of alternatives.

One way of combining good guy, bad guy. with higher authority is by saying things like:

“Well, I’d love to do a deal with you on that basis, but my manager refuses to let me agree terms of this nature without referring back and he refuses to talk to salespeople. Give me your best price and I will see what I can do”

Body Language:

It is important in negotiation to react verbally and visually when offers are made. You may have seen the more theatrical negotiators hang their heads in despair or accuse you of being unfair and souring a perfectly good relationship when you present your proposal. Human nature is such that we can believe and accept these outbursts against us and our negotiating position becomes weaker as a result.

Ensure the next time you are in a negotiation that you react to the other party’s offer. If you show no reaction, they may be tempted to ask for more and more and you will lose the initiative in the negotiation. Also, it is almost certain that their opening offer is higher than the figure for which they are prepared to settle, so it is important that you clearly signal your unwillingness to accept the opening position.

If you reach the point below which you will not go, it is important that you show this with your body language. News readers, when they have finished reading the news, have a habit of picking up their script and tidying up their papers. This tells the world that they have finished their task and are preparing to leave.

Similarly, when you make your final offer, it can be very powerful to collect your papers together and indicate with your body that it really is your final offer. Put your pen away, sit back in your chair and remain silent. Look concerned and keep quiet.

If your voice says final offer but your body is saying let’s keep talking, the other party will disregard what you say and keep negotiating.

The Use Of Silence:

During the negotiation, you may make a proposal and find the other party remains silent. This can be very difficult to handle and often signals disapproval to the inexperienced negotiator. Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so silence induces the need in people to talk.

If you have a proposal to make, make it and ask the other side how he or she feels about it. Having asked the question, sit back and wait for the answer. Whatever you do, don’t change your offer as this could seriously weaken your position.

The Vice:

A common technique used by negotiators when presented with a proposal is to say:

“You’ll have to do better than that.”

The most powerful way of dealing with this is to ask them to be more specific. Whatever you do, don’t weaken your negotiating position in response to the vice by giving anything away, too easily. This will only encourage repeat behaviour.

The Power Of Legitimacy:

People believe what they see in writing. We all assume that if a thing is printed or written down, it is non-negotiable. This is what can make price lists so powerful. If you have to present a customer with a price increase or you wish to encourage an early order to beat a price increase, show something in writing such as an office memo from your boss announcing the increase. This will have a far greater impact than just saying your prices are about to go up.

When presented with a price tag in a shop, ask to speak to the manager and make him an offer. You could be surprised at the results.

And Finally -The Low Key Approach:

Don’t appear too enthusiastic during negotiations. Over-enthusiasm can encourage skilled negotiators to review their strategy and demand more.

If you are in a negotiation and the other side is not responding to your proposal, recognise this could be a tactic and avoid giving concessions just to cheer them up. Salespeople like to be liked and will often give money away in a negotiation, if the other side appears unhappy.

For example, if you are buying a car avoid saying to the seller things like:

“This is exactly what I’m looking for. I really like the alloy wheels”.

Develop a low-key approach. Say things like:

“Well, it may not be exactly what I’m looking for but I might be interested if the price is right”.

I will share some more of negotiation tips next week with you.

Today’s News: I am in the UK with one of my favourite clients and it is now past 11pm - you may have been looking for some inspirational commentary; my question is this – “Who motivates the motivator?” You will discover from Monday, that I intend to make the Blogit far more dynamic  “What JF, even more dynamic?”

Tomorrow:You need to ask? Actually, we are making significant changes to TSE and planning an overhaul of Top 10 Sales Articles – oh, and I am lunching with my son in Cambridge! Have a great w/e, wherever you are- JF

The JF Guest Author Spot

From Prospect To Client In Thirty Seconds by C.J.Hayden

The process of converting a prospect to a client can seem like it takes forever. You meet a prospective client, follow up with him or her over time, and hopefully have a chance to make a sales presentation or schedule an initial consultation at no charge. Then you follow up some more, trying to close the sale. Months can pass, or even years, between your first encounter and getting the prospect to sign on the bottom line.

How do you keep following up for all that time without being a pest? Is asking prospects over and over, “Are you ready to buy yet?” the best way to go about it? How can you build the trust of your prospects enough that they become willing to take the risk of hiring you?

The answer to these bothersome questions just might be found in this simple idea. Treat those prospects as if they were already your clients — they just haven’t paid you yet.

Imagine what it would be like to treat every prospective client you encounter as if you were already working together. Every time you contact your prospects, you offer an article they might be interested in, an introduction to someone who might help them with a goal, or an invitation to an upcoming event in their field.

When you meet with them, you listen to their problems and recommend solutions. When you contact them after a meeting, you suggest resources for helping them address the issues you discussed. The solutions and resources you recommend may include your products and services, of course, but you don’t stop there. You also offer answers that don’t involve hiring you.

The impact of this kind of generosity on your prospective clients can be dramatic. Instead of considering your calls or e-mails an interruption, they will welcome hearing from you. They will no longer count you as a salesperson or vendor, but rather as a valuable resource and important person to know.

I’m not talking about giving away the store. I don’t recommend providing the client with free training, spending hours addressing their issues at no charge, or otherwise practicing your profession without pay. It is completely appropriate to ask for and expect payment for doing your professional work.

But what I am suggesting is a shift in your attitude, to being of service instead of selling a service. Give your prospects a taste of just how valuable you could be to them if they were to hire you. Be generous with the information and contacts you already have at your disposal. It only takes a few minutes to pass along a phone number, clipping, or helpful web site, but the impact can be unforgettable.

The effect of this shift on you can be just as significant as the effect on prospective clients. You will eliminate those dreaded sales calls from your agenda and focus instead on what you do best — helping people. You will no longer fear or resist making contact with prospects, but will begin looking forward to it. Instead of selling, you will be serving.

The fastest way to turn a prospect into a client may be simply to change how you think about them.

C.J. Hayden, MCC, is a business coach who teaches people to make a better living doing what they love. Her company, Wings Business Coaching, specializes in working with business owners, self-employed professionals, and people in marketing and sales. C.J. is a former corporate productivity consultant with over 25 years experience in business management. She has been a professional trainer since 1978, and a coach since 1992.

C.J. is the author of Get Clients NOW! (AMACOM, 1999), Get Hired NOW! and The One-Person Marketing Plan Workbook. She has taught Marketing for John F. Kennedy University, Mills College, SCORE, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. http://www.getclientsnow.com/

Today’s News: We are finally launched! We beat the gremlins and you can check it out here – www.topsalesexperts.com

Tomorrow:”Negotiation – Tactics, Tricks and Threats”

“You will make more friends in a week by getting yourself interested in other people than you can in a year by trying to get other people interested in you” – Arnold Bennett

I truly believe that every individual in the whole world is potentially only five or six contact steps away. This ‘five or six degrees of separation’ shows that even an entire population of over five billion people is still highly accessible.

However, for practical purposes, we don’t necessarily want or need to meet millions, or even thousands of people in different organisations, age groups, religions, professions, culture or places. We are just looking to develop a network that will eventually provide us with additional business.

Ideally therefore, we need some kind of filtering or research system that will help us to build a set of relationships of high quality, or a strong network that can find people and resources both efficiently and effectively.

First Steps:

The first step in the filtering process is to establish what sort of contacts or relationships you think may be of value or benefit to you (or the organisation of which you are a part). This is not to run counter to the idea that networking is primarily about giving, but suggests that some relationships are clearly more valuable in the long-term for both sides, given careful thought in the first place. Only you can determine this ‘value’.

You may already know, or be close to, someone very powerful or influential but gain no benefit from association. On the other hand, you may find someone in the street where you live who can bring you great benefit if you build a relationship with them. You just need to know what you’d like to achieve in order to make reasonable assessment.

Networking Pyramid:

When you start to network more widely, you quickly realise that there is a pyramid, or hierarchy of depth or quality in all of your potential relationships.

Pyramid Levels:

At the base of the pyramid are what we call ‘suspects’. These are people who seem open to an approach to offer support. (remembering my earlier point about giving and reciprocity).

It is usually better to find out more about suspects before approaching them in person. Many are often misidentified and only randomly picked. Only some suspects (when researched more closely) get to the next stage of becoming ‘prospects’.

Prospects are individuals who research confirms meet the effective network criteria, and can usually be approached in person. Once again, initial conversation may reveal that not all prospects have been correctly identified. However, the numbers of people at this level are fewer and you can be much more patient in letting time provide an answer.

Contacts are prospects to whom you have offered support and advice and whose assistance or guidance you have requested on one or more occasions. At this stage, you may have discovered only minor opportunities to call, talk or contact one another, but the potential to do more has been established.

Advocates are contacts that are openly promoting or advocating the benefits of networking (with you in particular) to other prospects and contacts. Although this may not mean frequent contact, it is likely to be more frequent than with general contacts in your network.

Partners are the best and most effective networkers than you know, and the ones you most often call to chat to, to ask advice, or suggest ideas or options. By this stage, the relationship has generally reached a much higher level of mutual trust and understanding.

Using The Pyramid To Look For Opportunities:

To begin to discover who might be your network suspects at the base of the pyramid, an excellent place to start is to read for opportunities much more widely.

This means becoming broadly alert to the many opportunities to network that may present themselves every single day. Many of these opportunities will be posted in newspapers, magazines, on notice boards, in advertisements, on the Internet and many other sources.

An increased alertness will count for little unless you have a well thought through perspective on what you are looking for. There is no point in networking for the sake of networking. To an extent, this will depend upon your overall personal networking aims and objectives.

Possible networking goals:

• To increase market share/customers

• To find new ideas

• To learn and develop yourself

• To find a job/work/career

• To find a new colleagues/friends

• To pursue a hobby or interest

• To gain new perspective on topics of interest to you

• To go into business for yourself

Different Kinds Of Network:

Every one of these networking goals is a worthy aim in itself, but it is usually the case that only one or two goals of this type will apply at any one time. Consequently, your networking research efforts will be invested quite differently if your goals are broadly around work or career options rather than if they are about starting up your own business.

Hence, although a few people will have very wide and diverse interests and a broad array of interesting contacts, our networking pyramids are built according to our specific goals and interest areas. This is often why we talk about a jobs network, a small business network, an education network and so on.

Networking is not a new phenomonem but with the plethora of sites sites now specialising in bringing people together, it is certainly something business people should do well. Personally, I enjoy networking very much

Today’s News: I actually meant to highlight this earlier in the week: My fellow Top Sales Expert and the CEO of Sales Gravy, a superb sales orientated community, have launched an excellent sales jobs section, which you can access here

We had some gremlins in the works last night, but it will be finally launched today by 12 noon EST www.topsalesexperts.com – do have a look around We need to give our thanks to an amazing development team!.

Tomorrow: On the JF Guest Author Spot is C.J Hayden, with “From Prospect To Client In Thirty Seconds”

The JF Guest Author Spot

“Why Training Fails” by Kevin Dwyer

If the objective of training is for people to apply that learning in the workplace and make an observable difference to an organisation’s results, then almost all corporate training fails to achieve its objective. In a 2000 study, the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) reported that only 3% of training reached Kirkpatrick’s “level 4” of training evaluation “results” where there is an impact on the organisation. In contrast, 95% of training reached “level 1” where the participants liked the training. A further breakdown of the study revealed that 37% of training reached “level 2” where participants learnt the material and only 13% of training reached “level 3” where participants applied the learning in the workplace. There are several failures, which lead to this significant waste of training dollars.

When training is not related to the organisation’s objectives, strategies and management’s day-to-day behaviour, training is ineffective in delivering the desired results. Generic “off the shelf” training which has not been designed for a specific purpose with people from a known organisation in mind may increase an individual’s knowledge, but it does not increase their ability to apply the knowledge. Even if training is devised specifically for an organisation, it will still be ineffective when the training does not relate to the day-to-day life at the “coal face” of managers, supervisors and shop floor personnel. Understanding the “coal face” before commencing training is the most important preparation a trainer can do.

An organisation spending considerable money on training should insist on the trainer having that understanding. The first utterance by the trainer which results in a response from their audience, “That does not happen here” is the moment that the trainer begins to lose the trust of the audience. When trust is lost, so is value and significant parts of the audience stop listening and participating. The worst part of it is that, most times, the response is silent and the trainer may well continue unawares. A further cause of wasted training dollars is the use of methods, which are not designed to achieve the change in behaviour, skills or knowledge that is desired. For example, lecture style methods used to change behaviour are inappropriate as they are best used to transfer only knowledge.

To change behaviour, the training is best to be of an experiential type and must be supported after the training is completed by coaching and a structure of formal and informal rewards. If the method used to train is useful for achieving the required change theoretically, it is still at times inappropriate for the audience. For example, role-plays are effective for improving skills as it allows participants to practise what they have learnt. However, if the participants are unlikely to be comfortable with role-plays, then the method is still unlikely to be effective. The most significant waste of training dollars however, rests with the lack of thought in determining what training is needed. Training is seen as a classroom exercise rather than a combination of learning interventions, which in combination results in developing the change in behaviour, skills and knowledge required. The failure of mangers and supervisors to determine what needs to change and developing an intervention framework to achieve the change is common. The failure of trainers to insist on finding out before completing their instructional design is more common.

Behavioural change needs personal coaching of the individual and support by a strong framework of goal setting and two-way feedback, if not 360 degree feedback. Skills development needs coaching of a different kind, one where the emphasis is on demonstration and practise. The practise needs to be in an environment where mistakes can be made and learnt from.

Knowledge can be learnt from books, lectures and interactive CDs to name a few. However, knowledge needs to be used in context to breed confidence. Therefore, training in knowledge must be quickly followed by the individual being placed in an environment where it is used. The fact that training fails so often because of a lack of clearly understanding the changes we want to develop and developing a broader training intervention beyond the classroom is bad. Combine it with the habit of many individuals in Fiji to treat training as a CV builder, absorbing little but the most basic understanding of what was being taught and a recipe for systemic low productivity is created as the blind lead the blind. “Trained” individuals using the most basic of understanding learnt in a classroom to make decisions, implement projects and manage their people have a false sense of competence, which impacts, far beyond the classroom. It is the responsibility of managers, supervisors and most importantly, the trainers, to make sure that training does not fail.

Failure costs too much.

Kevin Dwyer is a pragmatic change management advisor and founder of Change Factory. He comes from an old school that experienced and led change first and learnt the theory later. Kevin’s interest in sales is in developing the reinforcing loops of corporate goal, strategy, marketing and sales tactics, KPIs, recruitment, career and competence development, coaching and counselling that influences more customers to move through their buying process with the selling organisation. Change Factory’s mission is to help organisations that do not like their business outcomes get better business outcomes through changing people’s behaviour. The Change Factory view of what is generally missing in sales development can be summed up by the phrase “Training is not enough”.

Personal Note: Kevin is one of the founder members of the Top Sales Experts team and has played a significant and enthusiastic part in it’s success. He also produces one of my favourite newsletters, “Winds Of Change” which I know you will enjoy too – you can subscribe here – JF

Today’s News: We are just hours away now from the launch of the Top Sales Experts site and you can gain access from midight GMT (7pm EST) www.topsalesexperts.com – let me know what you think?

Tomorrow: With the proliiferation of commercial networking sites, I am prompted almost daily to join someone’s network – so just how important are strong networking skills?

A much shorter post than usual as I am travelling, but normal service will be resumed tomorrow… 

An inspired and motivated workforce is essential for any business that hopes to stay ahead of the competition. In a survey of more than one and a half thousand managers, people were asked what they would most like to see in their leaders. The most popular answer, mentioned by 55% of people, was ‘inspiration’.

When asked if they would describe their current leader as ‘inspiring’, only 11% said yes. The two attributes that people actually mentioned most often when describing their leaders were ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘ambitious’. As well as this thirst for inspiring leadership, there is also evidence to support the idea that companies with inspiring leaders perform better.

The Sunday Times publishes an annual survey of the ‘Best Companies to Work For’, which is compiled from the opinions of the companies’ own employees. One interesting fact is that those ‘Best Companies’ that are publicly quoted consistently outperform the FTSE All-Share Index. Five-year compound returns show a 5.7% negative return for FTSE All-Share companies against a 13.6% gain for the Best Companies. Over three years, the returns were -11.3% and 6.7% respectively while, in the last twelve months, they were 23.1% and 44%.

The ‘Best Companies to Work For’ have also performed impressively on staff turnover, sickness rates, absenteeism and the ability to recruit good quality people.

Today’s News: First up, we are 99% certain that the Top Sales Experts site will launch tomorrow (Tuesday). We have some tweaking to do but I am confident that we will be ready and I think you will be impressed. I will give you the link here tomorrow.

I had a very long chat with my good friend Jill Konrath on Friday and it was immediately evident that she was extremely pleased with how her first Sales Shebang turned out: We talked about the speakers we both know – Wendy Weiss, Joanne Black, Kim Duke, Anne Miller etc and Jill said she thought they were all “awesome”.

Clearly, this will not be a one off; as well as follow up events, I think Shebang will turn into a movement for women in sales – there is already a website up and running, where like minded saleswomen can meet and exchange ideas as well as keeping themseves updated with all things “Shebang” 

I am delighted for Jill, she has invested so much time, energy and her own money into this project and she deserves all the success that is going to come her way. If you are interested in joining the Sales Shebang community, you can register for free here.

Tomorrow:It is the return of my good friend from “Down Under” Kevin Dwyer of the Change Factory 

Active listening is a powerful way of listening and responding to customers, that improves mutual understanding. It is the foundation of effective communication and demonstrates real respect. According to Nancy Kline, author of the book ‘Time to Think’, when you are listening to someone, much of the quality of what you are hearing is your effect on them.

Giving good attention to people makes them more intelligent. Poor attention makes them stumble over their words and seem stupid. Your attention and your listening is what is important. When we are in conflict, we can sometimes contradict the customer, denying their description of a situation. This tends to make them defensive and they will either lash out or alternatively, withdraw and say nothing more.

However, if they believe that we are really tuned in to their concerns and want to listen, they are more likely to explain in detail what they feel and why. This in turn gives sales people a much greater chance of being able to develop a win-win solution.

Your role in the sales situation alternates between sender and receiver of messages. The very best sales professionals devote a large portion of the sales interview to listening, because sincere listening demonstrates sincere interest. Ultimately, good listening is the shortest distance between you and more sales; better sales, faster sales.

How often has a customer said something that has been misinterpreted by you? If you accept the view that everyone is unique, then every word has a different meaning to different individuals? What we say can be different to what we actually mean, because we all have to edit our thoughts in order to communicate them in words. We do this by a combination of deletion, distortion and generalisation

Communication involves four steps:

1. Sensing the message and the stimuli that goes with it
2. Interpreting it (to be sure you understand)
3. Evaluating it (never judge before you understand)
4. Reacting (either verbally or non-verbally)

That’s why it pays to listen with your eyes as well as your ears. Frequently, a gesture, an expression, will reveal as much or more than words. Therefore, effective listeners seek to understand the meaning behind their customers’ words. This requires giving the other person full attention and demands conscious practice.

To become excellent at listening, there are three main techniques:

1. Build high levels of rapport and trust your instincts.

When two people have established high levels of rapport, they unconsciously pick-up on the feelings of each other. At this point the sales person may get an instinct about something the customer ‘feels’, which is important feedback that is driven from their unconscious mind.

Trusting these instincts can sometimes prove to be a challenge for people who work in a corporate, logical environment, yet the ability to ‘listen’ and act upon these instincts can make the difference between a good listener and a great listener. If for example, you have created rapport and start to feel nervous, then chances are so is your customer. Imagine the impact of asking, “I’m getting a sense that you’re feeling nervous about this, what specific concerns do you have?” will have on your customer.

2. Demonstrate that you are paying attention.

This really encourages the customer to continue talking and helps put them at ease because they can see that you’re interested in what they are saying. Using noncommittal words with a positive voice tone that neither agree or disagree with what is being said, will ensure that the customer remains motivated to want to continue talking. For example, “I see”/ “Uh-huh”/ “That’s interesting” are great ways to achieve this. Nodding your head and taking written notes are also effective when demonstrating your interest.

3. Clarifying your understanding.

Adopting a consultative approach means that it’s vital to fully appreciate your prospect’s requirements. Even if you think that your prospect has made them very clear, it’s good practice to summarise your understanding of them. For example: “So what you’re saying is (requirement).” “You obviously value (requirement) as being very important to you.” These summaries will strengthen your relationship and demonstrate a genuine desire to really understand what they want. Rephrase their main points at regular intervals and ‘play them back’ to them. This helps them see if they have said exactly what they wanted to say and to make sure you understand. Put their feelings into words. This will help them evaluate and perhaps modify their statement…and it gives further evidence of your understanding.

Today’s News: Clayton Shold is in conversation with Susan Friedman, The Tradeshow Coach over at Salesopedia – you know, these interviews are just getting better and better. You can listen in here

Tomorrow: Well, you can anticipate that there will be much burning of midnight oil, as the launch of the Top Sales Experts site gets ever nearer: I am off to the UK next week and looking forward to travelling at high speed from London to Paris now that the new link to St. Pancras is opening:-)

So as always, wherever you are in the world, have a great w/e and make sure you come back next week please. 

The JF Guest Author Spot

There are three points in the sales process where a deal is likely to slow down: after you’ve made your formal presentation, after you’ve presented your proposal, and when your contract has gone to Legal. Because the last of these is less a matter of “selling” your decision-maker and more a matter of getting the prospect’s attorneys to get on with it, we’re going to focus here on the first two situations, since they’re the ones requiring us to use our skills to close our buyer.

Let’s start with what strategies we can employ to try to prevent a deal from slowing to a crawl.

Establish dates for next steps – yours and theirs. You should, of course, be doing this at every point in a sales engagement, but it becomes even more critical after you’ve reached the presentation/proposal evaluation stage. Why? Because it’s at this point that the dynamic changes for the prospect. Up until now, you’ve both been in “discovery mode” – you’re learning about the prospect’s business, and he’s learning about you, your company, and your solution. It’s a safe, non-threatening place. With your presentation and proposal, you’ve moved into “selling” mode. The prospect is aware of this, and any concerns, worries, or fears he’s kept to himself will begin manifesting themselves – often times as unresponsiveness. That’s why it’s particularly important at this stage to agree to speak or meet by a specific, agreed-upon date. Failure to do so gives the prospect an out.

Insist on delivering and presenting your proposal in person, and with the decision-maker present. A proposal is a selling tool, but just like a tool you might use around the house to fix something, it won’t get the job done unless its owner is there to make it do so. With your proposal, you are proposing the terms of your business relationship. Your prospect will most certainly not agree with or accept everything you’ve proposed; wouldn’t you rather have him “object” with you there, so you can help him resolve his concerns, rather than while he’s reading it alone, where you can’t?

Now let’s explore some tactics we can use in conjunction with these strategies. Each of these, with the exception of the last, presupposes you’ve been able to have reciprocal communication in some form or another with your prospect – which may sound circular, since, after all, your deal may have slowed down precisely because you can’t get a call back.

Uncover the Real Reason for the Indecision/Delay

We’ve all at one time or another been on the buying side of a transaction – as consumers. Think back to what you felt when you were faced with making a decision on a major purchase – a car, a house, a piece of furniture, an investment. How did it feel? Despite knowing the purchase you were about to make made sense, you likely weren’t quite ready to commit. You needed – wanted, in fact – to share your concerns with the salesperson and have them resolved. Well, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. When your prospect demurs, find out what’s holding him back and help him resolve the issue. It’s a win for both of you.

Convey the Consequences of Doing Nothing or of Delaying

Revisit the goals and objectives they revealed in your earlier discussions, and why they told you the purchase had to be made now – and why it couldn’t wait (prospects often lose sight of these things when faced with the daunting decision of making a commitment). Have him think about what it will cost him: lost opportunity, lost time, lost ground to competitors, special terms, discounts, etc. Communicate subtly that the world doesn’t stand still just because they do. Remind him of what he said he wanted, why it was critical that he have it, and what he won’t get if he continues to delay. Also, since no one likes the feeling of being in an indecisive state, you might try something like, “Wouldn’t it feel better to make a decision, one way or the other, rather than having it continue to hang over your head? Let’s work through this together”

Find Out Where You Stand, and Why

If the prospect is reluctant to open up, well, you may have a deeper problem: you may not have developed a “trusted advisor” relationship. Granted, this is not always possible, especially with prospects who value being neutral among vendors over developing an advisory relationship with one trusted vendor. In this case, approach the situation by first asking a closed-ended question, such as, “Are we closer to working together, or not working together?” If the answer is, “closer to not working together”, you’ll need to probe for why. If the answer is, “closer to working together”, you’ll want to uncover what it will take to get to “working together”.

Send a “Surrender” Letter

When all else fails, and it looks as if your prospect has simply gone underground, try sending what I call a “surrender” letter. It says, in so many words, that “I give up, since it seems that you’re no longer interested in engaging us.” In the letter, you express your disappointment that after both parties had invested so much time and effort, neither one will reap the benefits of a working relationship. You then ask for feedback on where you failed them in conveying the value you could provide (to request a sample of such a letter I recently composed for a client, click here ). If you’re lucky, the prospect will feel guilty enough to respond (probably by email), and you’ll learn why. With this knowledge, you may then try a last-ditch effort to save the deal.

Action Item:

Review your list of stalled deals and determine which of these tactics would be appropriate to try. For deals in which you’re about to make your presentation, be sure to agree at the end of the presentation on next steps with precise dates. For deals for which you’ve already presented and are preparing a proposal, insist on delivering it in person. If you get push back, explain the value to the prospect of discussing it together – that you’ll be able to immediately clarify anything that requires clarification. Employ these strategies and tactics, and you’ll see your sales cycles shorten, and your sales figures go up.

Sales Solutions Founder and President Craig James has over 12 years’ experience in sales and sales management, primarily in technology and software. He has sold products and services ranging from $1,000 to $250,000. He knows salespeople – what motivates them, what holds them back, how they operate – and how to get them to improve themselves, and their value to their employers. http://www.sales-solutions.biz

Today’s News: If you have visited Top 10 Sales Articles recently, you will have noticed that we have reduced the number of sites from which we select the very best sales articles each week. This is because in our opinion, the very best authors of sales related articles only contribute to a handful of article communities and as a consequence, our “preferred supplier” list is now: Ezine Articles, Build Your Own Business, Salesopedia, Sales Gravy, Eyes On Sales, Best Management Articles and Rain Today – so, if you are an author wishing to gain a nomination, with all the exposure that comes with it, we suggest you get yourself published on at least one of these excellent sites.

Harsh? Not really, we simply do not have time to wade through acres of dross to uncover gems: We know that when we visit these sites, the quality will usually be of the required high standard.

You can also look forward to the annual JF Article Community Awards, which will be announced on Christmas Eve – it was a rather “tongue in cheek” affair last year but I think it will be far more competitive this year But, I do need to add, it is only my opinion and as such, can be regarded as a very subjective view. This is last year’s post

Tomorrow: “Communication Is More Than Just Words…”

The most valuable resource we have is time and sales people more than anyone know how challenging it can be to cram everything that needs to be done into their available time. According to Stephen Covey, author of ‘First Things First’ we should focus on our high priority tasks, those that provide the biggest levers towards achieving our goals. That is why being clear on what you want to accomplish in every facet of your life, will determine the importance and therefore the priority of everything you need to do.

Essentially, we spend our time on tasks that are categorised into one of four areas:

1. Urgent and Important – these activities will include crises, pressing problems, deadline-driven projects, meetings and preparation for all of these things. Whilst we do have to spend time on these tasks, it is vital to appreciate that many of them become urgent because of a lack of planning.

2. Important and Non-Urgent – these activities include preparation, prevention measures, planning, relationship building and creating. In fact, all these types of tasks can be summarised as activities that are directly linked to the accomplishment of our long-range goals.

3. Urgent and Not Important – these activities will include interruptions, some phone calls, some emails and reports and those types of tasks that we may enjoy doing – popular activities. The term ‘urgent’ can create the perception that these types of tasks are important.

4. Non-Urgent and Not Important – these activities will include trivia, some phone calls, junk mail, time wasters, watching mindless television shows and anything that we do to escape doing those tasks that we need to do. If we are battered by spending too much time on urgent activities, we may seek solace through doing these types of activities. We can summarise these tasks as those that waste our time.

When working on urgent tasks, two things are likely to occur. Firstly, the feelings of urgency, creates an adrenalin rush that can fill us with a sense of excitement. Once the urgency has been withdrawn from our situation, we can feel down and depressed. This develops into an addiction to urgency – we crave the highs and do whatever we can to avoid the lows. Secondly, urgent tasks can create a ‘choking effect’ when we feel so overwhelmed that it impairs our ability to think clearly. Neither reactions are helpful if we want to remain in a peak state over a long period.

Many people who experience ‘burn-out’ have spent too much of their time working on urgent things, this creates an imbalance and they simply become exhausted. They simply cannot see ‘the wood from the trees’ and negative thoughts begin to dominate the positive ones. Many sales people become stuck at a certain level of success because they have allowed themselves to become buried under countless details, demands and activities that drain their energy.

When people have more balance and more free time to devote to important tasks they are rejuvenated and better equipped to increase their productivity. This is why spending a larger proportion of our time on activities that are important yet not necessarily urgent gives us a greater sense of control over our lives. Planning your time accordingly will save you time and ensure that you remain focussed on those tasks and activities that take you closer to your goals. Also by scheduling your tasks, you are more likely to complete them.

Today’s News: As I promised yesterday, here are the male contingent, who will be lining up on the Top Sales Experts site next week, in no particular order: Wally Adamchik, Kevin Dwyer, Kevin Eikenberry, Joe Heller, Steve Martinez, Kelley Robertson, Gregory Stebbins, Paul McCord, Jeb Blount, Greg Stewart, Mark Hunter and JF -yep, that is a group of very big hitters

Tomorrow: On the JF Guest Author Spot, I am delighted to welcome Craig James who is making his debut – it really is an excellent piece of writing.

The JF Guest Author Spot

“What you can learn from the Movie Business” By Kim Duke 

Maybe everything you need to know you can learn from the movies. A friend of mine is a screenwriter in Los Angeles. Over a glass of wine, we were discussing his business and the nature of the beast in Hollywood. He’s a boy from Winnipeg who gave up his much-loved Honda, his life savings, and his broadcasting career to move to Los Angeles to attend the American Film Institute. Not an easy feat in your mid-30s. After 8 years of hard work he is now becoming the new discovery of LA. He said the most difficult thing to adjust to was all the talking.

Collin slouches into his chair. “Everyone lies in this business. It’s all big Cheshire cat smiles – but essentially people have the ‘Enough about you – more about me’ mentality.”

After our conversation I thought about his last statement.

In Sales, You are on a Blind Date with Your Prospective Customer?
We tend to love what we do. So we get all excited about it and then proceed to tell everything about ourselves to the potential customer. It just reminds me of a really bad date! A one-sided conversation becomes tired pretty quickly. Customers feel like they are on a bad blind date with you if there isn’t a connection to what they need.

Minus the cynicism, our clients are also thinking like the Hollywood set, “ENOUGH ABOUT YOU blabbing about all the wonderful things about your company, your product, your requirements. MORE ABOUT ME – and what I need to survive and thrive!”

The Helium Test

Are you talking your face off when you are speaking with your client? When they ask you on the phone what you have to offer – do they hear a massive intake of air and then you giving your best “I just sucked in helium and can talk really fast” act?

If so – you aren’t making a connection with your customer. You sound like everyone else, you act like everyone else and you aren’t positioning yourself as someone who can help. Because at the end of the day -what you really do is HELP PEOPLE. The only way this is accomplished is by discovering what your customer needs and researching other areas of need – areas your customer may not even have thought of yet!

Questions Are The Answer!

Sounds like a paradox doesn’t it? In order to help your customer you first find out what they need. Or THINK they need.

Carrie Fisher, the actress who played Princess Leah in Star Wars said “Instant gratification doesn’t come fast enough. “ Now for a girl with cinnamon buns attached to the side of her head this is a pretty profound statement.

Your customers are demanding instant gratification. They want their needs met. In most cases, it just isn’t happening. The first thing out of your mouth should be “May I ask you a few questions?”

Remember W5?

Who, What, When, Where, Why and How are the foundation of selling. Customers buy when they feel an emotion NOT when they’ve had information dumped on them. How do you do this? By asking questions! Our customers become engaged when they feel curiosity… .NOT boredom.

Our customer contact should be handled with this premise – Create Curiosity With Questions.

Would the Academy of Sales Want You?

Create your own Academy award winning sales success by talking less and listening more. As Collin says, the best agents ask a multitude of relevant questions. Then they listen to the answers and make it happen. Are you acting like a star with your clients or are you being an agent? Your success lies in the answer.

 Kim Duke, The Sales Diva, provides savvy, sassy sales training for women small biz owners and entrepreneurs. Kim works with clients internationally, showing them The Sales Diva secrets to success! Sign up for her saucy and smart FREE e-zine and receive her FREE Bonus Report “The 5 Biggest Sales Mistakes Women Make” at www.salesdivas.com

Today’s News: We are now just a week away from the launch of one of the most exciting sales related projects ever conceived: Never before have so many sales experts come together in one place, to showcase their work and offer a one-stop location for anyone seeking world class solutions.

Today, I am going to introduce the female members of the Top Sales Experts team – in no particular order, they are: Joanne Black, Jill Konrath, Wendy Weiss, Cheryl Clausen, Diane Helbig, Andrea Nierenberg, Colleen Francis, Anne Miller, Tammy Stanley, Lori Richardson, Kim Duke and Rochelle Togo-Figa. That is an incredible collection of experience and expertise; tomorrow, I will spotlight the male team members. 

The fundamental difference between selling and negotiation is that selling is a process to identify the fit between what the seller is offering and what the buyer is seeking. Negotiation is the process of agreeing the terms of the deal and is part of the selling continuum. Yet the negotiation should only begin when there is a genuine commitment from the buyer and seller towards a conditional sale.

It is a bit like dating; usually a person is unlikely to book a restaurant until a date has been agreed to. Equally, the person being asked for a date would not particularly care about the restaurant choice unless they were sufficiently interested in attending the date. Once the date has been agreed it’s simply a matter of agreeing/negotiating the type of restaurant, location and time. When an individual is or has committed to do something, their level of interest rises dramatically, which is why the negotiation phase can be a hotbed of emotional intensity and tension.

Excellent salespeople use the selling phase to lay the ground rules for a possible future negotiation by ensuring that they fully understand their prospect’s requirements and decision making process, whilst planting seeds and setting the tone for the negotiation phase. If, for example, you do all the giving through the selling phase, you have established the pre-supposition that you will continue to do all the giving in the negotiation phase. The transition from selling to negotiating can only occur when the desire to do business has been evoked in the prospect.

So, always start with the end in mind:

The benefits of a well-negotiated deal can have a major impact on bottom line profit and naturally, when the buyer and seller enter into a negotiation they both want the best possible deal for their own organisation. It is little wonder that negotiations are viewed as competitions, where the outcome has to yield winners and losers. The ‘winning’ negotiator may experience short-term gains, yet long-term gains may prove harder than winning the lottery. That is why the process of creating an agreement that each party will willingly fulfil is referred to as Win-Win and provides increased probability of sustaining long-term customer relationships. Every negotiation has the potential to achieve one of the following outcomes:

 Win-Lose – where your customer wins a better deal at your expense and can lead to an unprofitable long-term relationship, because you have conceded too much to sustain future account servicing and growth.

 Lose-Win – where you win a better deal at your customer’s expense, which can cause bitterness and resentment, resulting in cancellations and a myriad of issues that stem from negative emotions.

 Lose-Lose – which is symptomatic of inflated egos on both sides that are prepared to ‘fight to the bitter end’ just to do a deal. This outcome creates bitterness and relationships are unlikely to continue past the short term.

 Walk-Away – which is actually a better outcome than all the above, because it preserves the possibility of a future relationship that is profitable for both parties.

 Win-Win – where both parties have made concessions, yet both the buyer and the seller are willing to comply with the agreed terms and share a perception that the outcome was fair to both.

Recognising the importance of Win-Win outcomes is the first step towards planning to create an environment where both people are willing to share information and invest time in the negotiation process.

Some people see themselves as natural, spontaneous negotiators, which may get the adrenaline pumping, yet a lack of planning can result in lost revenues, lost opportunities and lost time. Thorough preparation is more likely to create and instil a high level of self-confidence, as well as create an increased probability for a Win-Win outcome.

Finally,here is a useful checklist of questions that will ensure good preparation practice:

•  Who has the most advantage? (the better bargaining position)
•  How strong is your proposition?
•  How strong is the other party’s proposition?
•  What will you and the other party be asking for?
•  What are your options and alternatives?
•  What is the cost/value of each negotiation point?
•  What are the other party’s worries, frustrations and motivations?
•  What are the fixed and variable points from all sides’ perspectives?
•  What ideally do you want to achieve?
•  What is your fallback position from which you are not prepared to move?
•  What are your fixed points?
•  What can you use as concessions if you decide to trade?
•  What are the real issues for you?
•  Who will be attending the negotiation?
•  What are their roles?
•  What are their positions?
•  Is the decision-maker present?
•  In your team, what roles will you be taking?
•  Who will handle which issues?
•  How would you describe the negotiation style of the other party?
•  How will this affect your own approach in the negotiation?
•  What did you learn from your last negotiation that you can apply to this one?

Today’s News: This promises to be an extremely busy weeek: The new autonomous Top Sales Experts site is due for launch next week and there is still much to do – I will be introducing you to the expanded team, in the next few days.

As it is Monday, I need to remind you that last week’s nominated articles have been posted over at Top 10 Sales Articles Once again, we have some excellent work, so do drop in if you can.

Tomorrow: “The Sales Diva” herself makes a welcome return – Kim Duke is in the JF Guest Author Spot so expect something very sassy!