“Go into it with just a good outlook where you’re actually looking forward to the negotiation because they’re going to say yes, rather than getting defensive before you even start by assuming they’re going to say no.” – Jeff Bajorek in today’s Tip 875
Are you getting so defensive when they’re likely to say yes?
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Transcript
Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Today’s tip comes from Jeff Bajorek. Hopefully, at this point, Jeff needs no introduction, but if you feel like he does. Just jump over to jeffbajorek.com and get yourself up to speed. Here he is:
Jeff Bajorek: There are a lot of books out there about negotiation. Some are better than others, but most of them prepare you mentally to go to war. And, of course, the ones that are about like actual crisis negotiations, that kind of feels like war. And there are lessons to be taken from those books. And there are books about sales negotiation that check the boxes about making sure that you’ve addressed a lot of the needs and the perceived objections ahead of time and making sure you’re the vendor of choice before you negotiate so you don’t negotiate against yourself. And just making you aware of all the things that tend to come up and surprise you if it’s your first time going through this. There’s a lot of value to that. But I stumbled upon something not literally, earlier this week in the shower, and I was working through and kind of preparing myself for my own negotiation with a new client. And it hit me. We spent a lot of time as salespeople assuming or preparing for our prospects to say no.
What are they going to come back with? What are they going to disagree with? What are they going to counter with? And I thought to myself, what if I just thought about them or pictured them saying yes? It is amazing and I don’t know why it’s taken me 17 years to come up with this, but it literally just hit me as I was stepping into the shower. You know, I could make an offer or kind of a rebuttal to their counteroffer. And they could very well say yes, because remember, before we got to this point, they had agreed in principle to what I was going to provide. And they saw a bunch of value in what I was going to provide. And I know that the fee structure that I’ve proposed is fair because I’ve had a lot of clients like them pay that amount. So why am I getting so defensive when they’re likely to say yes?
And I also want you to think about this. Are you getting ready to go to war with someone that you want a long-term relationship with? Does that make sense to say it out loud? How often do you get into a bitter, brutal tooth and nail negotiation, only to shake hands after it’s done and put it behind you, water under the bridge, buddy. Let’s go get to work. That doesn’t really happen that way.
So recognize that you’ve got work to do before it comes time to negotiate and also keep in mind that after the negotiation, there’s a ton more work to do, the work you actually want to do.
So approach that negotiation with a mindset of, “Hey, you know what, I’ve provided a lot of value here. I believe that they will say yes to this.” Better yet, put together a proposal that you believe they will say yes to that also makes you very happy to do business. And you’re going to notice a change in the demeanor. You will also notice a change over the long term of your reputation in the marketplace, and that will serve you better than you can possibly imagine.
So go into it with a positive feeling. Go into it with just a good outlook where you’re actually looking forward to the negotiation because they’re going to say yes, rather than getting defensive before you even start by assuming they’re going to say no.
Scott Ingram: For those links again to connect with Jeff and maybe to start your own negotiation with Jeff because you think he might be able to help you. Just click over to DailySales.Tips/875
After you’ve done that. Be sure to come back tomorrow for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!