Summary
This two-day program helps sales professionals learn how to negotiate from the same side of the table as their customers in order to achieve optimum results for both sides and to forge lasting trust and customer confidence. After assessing their own negotiating style, participants practice a five-phase, non-adversarial negotiating process that establishes and maintains an atmosphere of trust. Seminar participants learn how to deal effectively with sophisticated buyers and pre-establish criteria, justify their best-case proposals so that they can ask for high-margin orders without losing credibility and make constructive concessions when called for and address the underlying needs and interests of their customers in a collaborative style that avoids fixed positions or demands. As a result of this process, sales professionals are more able to: maximize revenue and profit; create a smoother and mutually satisfying negotiation process; get full-value for their products and services; avoid price-only negotiations; use value-added services to their advantage; and negotiate effectively with difficult people.

The buying and selling process continues to grow more complex, more sophisticated, and more demanding. Successful sales professionals are finding it increasingly necessary to add an additional skill to their complement of selling and customer service skills. Today, many purchases are negotiated, rather than dictated, and across industries, sales managers are discovering that negotiating skills are considerably different from the “closing” skills so familiar to traditional sales practitioners. 

Course Outcomes
This program approaches the needed new competency from a different perspective – it is less theoretical and more practical, yet less tactical and more strategic than other negotiating programs. It helps participants develop a values-and-objectives-based framework for each negotiation, identifying both sides’ needs and currencies, and enables them to move strategically toward a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Specifically, this course has enabled participants to:

• Apply ethical principles to a disciplined, five-phase negotiation process, establishing both a framework and an atmosphere of trust;
• Prepare more rigorously for their negotiations by (1) assessing the interests of all parties, (2) identifying each party’s currencies, competitive advantages, and disadvantages, (3) developing a creative, win-win proposal that addresses the needs of the client or buyer and builds value for the proposal, (4) correctly anticipating objections, and (5) outlining alternatives for overcoming them;
• Practice specific creative negotiating tactics that bring about superior outcomes for both sides;
• Recognize adversarial tactics and develop strategies to negotiate effectively without compromising their principles or position, and without giving in to pressure; and
• Apply these principles, preparation disciplines, and strategies – as well as an enhanced ability to negotiate rationally even with irrational clients – in an upcoming negotiation. 

As a result of implementing this program in your sales organization you can expect your sales team will carry increased confidence into negotiations with key customers and achieve more favorable results, while increasing customer satisfaction and trust.

This course uses a variety of methods to help participants learn and apply a rational strategic process for all negotiations. They have the opportunity to experience and practice specific techniques to bring that process effectively to the table.