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Is Negotiating a Required Skill Set for a Salesperson?
Recently I was moving my books out of my garage. I needed to make room for my Jeep’s top and doors. I brought all the books from my garage to my office. I already have about a hundred books at my office and just brought about another hundred. With my entire collection of books together, at least my professional books, I decided to organize them.
Quickly, I realized I read a lot, but I also realized out of all the categories related to sales negotiating was the topic I had the most books on. As a matter of fact, I had over 15 books on negotiating, more than double any other sales topic.
Owning all of these books really got me thinking because just the week prior, I was giving a class on the negotiating & closing step of the sale, and I was telling my students how this is the only step of the sale that is ok to skip. I love this concept. When you think about it, if your customer says “yes” to your investment proposal, there is no need to negotiate or close the deal because the deal is already closed.
So, if you can get your customer to say “yes” to your investment proposal eliminating the need to negotiate & close, why do I have all of these books on negotiating instead of focusing on the other steps of the sale. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest mistakes salespeople make that cause them to need to negotiate.
3 Mistakes Salespeople Make to Require Negotiations
- Pre-Qualifying Customers – Pre-qualifying a customer is when a salesperson determines in their mind the customer is not going to or unable to purchase. Pre-qualifying is a major mistake; 8 out of 10 people are buyers and will buy from someone. Why do so many salespeople look for the two who are not buying? Pretty good question, right? Instead, treat every customer like a millionaire buyer.
- Focusing on the Money – Most salespeople focus on and worry about the money aspect of the deal more than the customer does. Asking money-focused questions instead of building a relationship, a customer profile, and value.
Typical Money Questions:
- “What price range are you looking at?”
- “How much did you need to get for your trade?”
- “Where are you trying to be budget-wise?”
Try asking about their current situation to determine the financial information you need without focusing on the money.
“I see you are financing with ABC Credit Union. When is your next payment due?” … “When you make that payment, how much will it be?”
“Your {Model X} is in excellent condition. When researching its value online, what information did you find?”
These are customer-centric questions that show the customer you are concerned about them, building the relationship versus making the primary focus on the money.
- Shortcutting the Sales Process – NEVER shortcut the sales process!
EVERY “NO CLOSE” CAN BE TRACED BACK TO A MISTAKE OR SHORTCUT IN THE SALES PROCESS
I can’t think of a more straightforward way to explain why a salesperson should not shortcut the sales process. Every time a salesperson does, it leads to a lost sale.
Work on your sales process skills instead of learning how and practicing to become a better negotiator. Work on treating every person you talk to as a buyer, because they are going to buy somewhere. Treat every buyer as if they are a millionaire, even if they aren’t. Spend more time focusing on the customer and their situation instead of the money. The better relationship you build and the more value you create, the more a customer will spend. Why negotiate when you don’t have to?
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