Sales Training Advice: Getting What You Need From Your Sales Related Meetings Through Effective Negotiation Techniques

In Sales training programmes, negotiation skills are often missed altogether. You could say that the underlying reason most of us feel the need to negotiate with anyone else is so that we can find a way to get what we want. Being human, most of us believe that our viewpoint is important and that everyone else should at least consider seeing things our way. If you had no desires or needs, there would be little reason for you to negotiate with others.

If sales courses don't always teach influencing skills, how then can you convince other people to favourably consider your propositions?

Believe it or not, there is a science supported by more than 60 years of research that has informed our understanding of the use of persuasion to satisfy our needs and wants in sales negotiation. The world's leading authority on the science of persuasion, Dr Robert Cialdini, has identified 6 principles of persuasive communication in his research:

Reciprocation
Liking
Commitment & Consistency
Authority
Scarcity
Social Proof

Whilst influence will always be an art, it is astonishingly helpful to use the power of the 6 principles uncovered by scientific research to increase your chances of influencing others to give you what you really want.

Let's start by closely looking at what I believe to be the most important principle from a negotiation point of view - reciprocation.

Reciprocation means that we return to others the same behaviour that they exhibit towards us. If you have done me a favour, then I should help you. If you invite me to your birthday party, then I should invite you to my birthday party. If you make a concession to me, then I should make a concession to you.

So what does this mean to you and how can you employ it to get what you need?

Here's how:

Ensure that when you negotiate you ask for a little more than you would be satisfied to receive.

Let's say you are trying to sell a widget and you need to get $ 100 for the widget.

If you would like to apply the principle of reciprocation, then you should start by asking for a little more - let's say by requesting $ 105.

If your counterparty does not agree to handing over $ 105 for the widget, then you are able to make a concession by lowering your required price to $ 100 in exchange for your counterparty also making a concession to you. A concession that your counterparty could make in this case could be to pay you cash on the spot or to take care of shipping etc.

The key is for you to offer the concession - don't wait for your counterparty to make a concession. Just make sure that you use the word 'if' when you offer your concession:

"If you are prepared to pay me in cash right now, then I will reduce the price from $ 105 to $ 100". This way you give an indication to your counterparty that you are prepared to be flexible and you will now significantly increase the likeliness of them also being flexible and offering a concession in return.

Just be sure to use this principle 'in the moment' whilst you are negotiating. If you went away from a negotiation to reconsider your proposal, your counterparty will be more likely to regard your amended offer as a new proposal, not as a concession.