The Authority of Positive Posturing

All the pressures on us, both buyer and seller, are downward as far as price is concerned. We need to stop the rot and build value, build authority, build confidence.

This is not mind over matter. This is stark reality. For sellers, your own thoughts and the negative environment that so often surrounds you mean that you go into negotiation already feeling that your prices are too high. In fact it is amusingly uncommon to meet salespeople who believe their prices are low or right. Any buyer worth his or her salt is going to try to make you feel that even more keenly.

One of the things that can be hard for salespeople is that in nearly every application more people say 'No' than 'Yes'. There is nothing wrong with that. Good salespeople may secure one sale in every three to four appointments. They should be proud of that achievement. However, their mind has been told 'No' more than 'Yes'. Let's say they do 100 appointments per month. That means 75 people or companies have said 'No' and only 25 have said 'Yes'. As a sales manager I would probably be pleased with that performance, and rightly so. But what of the effect on the salespeople's state of mind? I was listening to a sales trainer recently in Canada who insisted that all his salespeople had 20 `No's per week - otherwise they didn't get paid!

Whatever our job, it can condition us to go into negotiation in a negative frame of mind. Working environments often bring us into contact with criticism and complaints. If we hear negative things often enough we can begin to believe them. These negative inputs can weigh us down. If we are not careful, our motivation and determination can drown under their weight.

Skilled negotiators spend time building up their own confidence, making sure before any significant negotiation that they feel good about the process and their role in it, objectively restating to themselves the positive value of this deal, this agreement, and their impact upon it. It often helps to write down key positive statements about the project, the product, the deal and its effect. Doing this is cathartic; it begins to wash clean those negative stains and provides a clean fresh edge to our motivation and performance.



How to Negotiate Effectively
How to Negotiate Effectively (Creating Success)
ISBN: 0749448202
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 111
Authors: David Oliver

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net