Leads tactfully to maximize mutual benefit

Leads tactfully to maximize mutual benefit

Pinto the Sales Person: "I love sales.. What I hate are the negotiations … back and forth discussions that precede closure"

Sounds familiar? Read on..

Pinto, is a bright, young, eager eyed sales intern into heavy engineering sales. A graduate in mechanical engineering, with a passion for complex machines and a love for talking to people, Pinto regards himself a ‘natural’ for B2B selling in industrial engineering.

But Pinto finished just one quarter in the field when Corona struck. Pinto’s Regional Manager tells him in a virtual review: “Agree you have built up a healthy pipeline before the pandemic struck. But your closures, were very low. Looks like your pipeline is in need of a stent or by-pass”

Pinto goes to his Sales Manager for advice. Pinto admits that most of his deals are in various stages of negotiations. “I love sales” he says with a lot of feeling “What I hate are the negotiations … back and forth discussions that precede closure”.

His Sales Manager wants him to calm down “Have patience Pinto” he says “ You are persuasive. That’s how you were able to build a solid pipeline. Now use the same persuasiveness to lead your prospect tactfully to closure. Look at it this way: Negotiation is persuasion driven by purpose, to maximize mutual benefit. When fueled by such persuasion, negotiation makes selling beautiful. You are young and tech savvy. So, you can pursue most of the pipeline deals in a series of virtual meetings. Here are 3 insights to help you handle negotiations confidently”

“(1) Remember negotiation is a buyer’s need. It’s when a Customer is ready to buy from a seller, that he initiates negotiations to improve the deal (2) Negotiation outcomes aren’t easy to predict. So be ready for the unexpected. (3) Negotiation happens in 3 phases – Discussion/ Proposing/ Bargaining. Recognising the phase you are in, puts you in a position to negotiate effectively. So, here is what you should do when we get going again. Prioritize proposals from in-demand industries like FMCG, personal protection and pharma. Identify the phase of negotiation they are in, currently. Go ahead and lead towards closure with each of them. Use web meetings to make a strong persuasive impact. Isn’t that exciting?”

Sales champions are highly persuasive. And because they are persuasive they never fear to negotiate and close