7 Effective Sales Negotiation Examples and Tips

Why negotiation matters

Negotiation is at the heart of closing sales deals. The goal of a successful business is not to make a single sale and move on, but to build a relationship. Good negotiations significantly improve business and establish long-term relationships, which costs a fraction of what a company has to spend on acquiring new customers. 
Negotiation techniques help increase the rate of closing deals, maintain the profit margins for your products and services, and stay a cut above your market rivals. But negotiation skills don’t improve overnight-- it takes practice overtime to get the best results. 

In this article, we are going to share the most relevant sales negotiation examples and tips to implement in 2021.  

7 Effective Sales Negotiation Examples, Techniques, and Tips

• 📨 Never Negotiate Over Mail
• ⏰ Timing is everything
• 👨‍💼 Switch From ‘We’ to ‘I’
• 💰 Allude to ‘Approved Prices’
• 💵 Pause After Sharing Pricing
• 🗣️ The ‘F’ Word
• 🔐 Never Ask for a Close (directly)
  

#1 Never Negotiate Over Mail

Sharing key details and pricing of your product over email is okay, but negotiation is a big no. 

Negotiation over email runs the risk of miscommunication, as email is one-way communication while a phone conversation is back and forth. The email negotiation gives your potential clients time to think and respond, which makes the salesperson lose control over the conversation. It also extends the sales cycle with multiple steps like the email being sent, read and ignored or responded to, and so on.

It’s far easier and faster to negotiate over the phone, as there’s a personal connection and the prospect is more likely to be convinced and converted.

#2 Timing is everything

One of the most important negotiation techniques is waiting for the right moment. But when is the right time to negotiate? Is it the first call, the second call, or whenever you have built a rapport? The truth is, the negotiation in many ways begins right from the very first second of the call. Even before you begin the actual negotiation, the sales rep must begin with one goal in mind which is a successful closure, and set the sales negotiation stage for the same. situational sales negotiation is a great way to improve your sense of sales timing and pace correctly is to understand the parts of the sales funnel to take your prospect through. Learn more about this through our blogpost Building A B2B Sales Funnel To Win More Sales.

#3 Switch From ‘We’ to ‘I’

Language matters. While ‘I’ and ‘We’ might sound about the same, they make a world of difference. ‘We’ is more formal, yet it’s personal and comfortable. There are a lot of places where ‘we’ is the right approach as it personalizes the interaction. However, the more comfortable approach that comes from ‘we’ can hinder the negotiation. It’s much harder for sales reps to do situational sales negotiations with ‘we’.  So start with ‘we’ and switch from ‘we’ to ‘I’ during the negotiation phase. 

#4 Allude to ‘Approved Prices’

If you mention ‘list price’ during the conversation, then expect the negotiation to last long, as the prospective customers know there is a great scope for negotiation. Instead, try saying ‘approved prices’. This way, buyers would know that the approved prices do not change easily and they will not spend a long time negotiating. The approval seems like the price has been discussed internally in the first place, and is the lowest in the market. 

#5 Pause After Sharing Pricing

State your approved price and then pause for a second. Although the pause may seem awkward, it will allow your prospective customer to digest it. Don’t fidget or give into the urge to fill the awkward pause. Allow your prospect to respond to the price, and then take it from there. The negotiation is the best if you talk less at this point. 

The rule of thumb is the three-second pause after sharing the price, to improve the odds of making a sale. You never know-- after the pause, your prospective client may say they’re ready to buy and no negotiation may be required. 

‘With practice, you’ll master the art of the pause.’ 

#6 The ‘F’ Word

“FAIR is the single-most powerful word in any negotiation.” -- Chris Voss, FBI hostage negotiator. 

Humans crave fairness, right from the quality of the products to the pricing. 

Use the F word deliberately and powerfully, and in a way take the deal to the next step. However, do not use the F word more than one time during the conversation. 

#7 Never Ask for a Close (directly)

In sales negotiation training, sales reps are taught not to ask their prospective customers to close. Customers are more immune to pressure tricks and this hard tactic rarely works anymore. In 2021, it may even have the opposite effect and be damaging to the relationship. Lead your potential clients to the finishing line, but let them take the last step and cross it. They may raise their concerns right away, or take several days or weeks. In the case of the latter, stay patient and be willing to answer any questions in a neutral, non-pushy way. Often, the decision is not just about how things might work for them, but about their emotions too. Either way, they must feel comfortable and in control of the discussion and it must feel like their decision matters. Make sure you handle the last leg calmly and with ease, leading your prospective customers from uncertainty to certainty. 

SalesKen - A Leading AI Tool for Sales Negotiation And Augmenting Sales Intelligence

SalesKen leverages the power of artificial intelligence to make negotiations easier and help you close deals faster and at higher rates than ever before!

SalesKen helps you:

1. Identify the conversation snippets that influence your prospects the most.
2. Know how your top-performing sales reps handle customer objections. You can then replicate these winning strategies across your team.
3. Determine, with SalesKen’s state-of-the-art emotion detection engine, if the customer is responding positively to your pitch, and tailor your talking points accordingly.
4. With real-time cues to navigate through conversations successfully.

Book a demo now! See for yourself how SalesKen can help you close 74% more deals!