Art Of Negotiation

Clint Babcock, author of Negotiating from the Inside out: A playbook for Business success and a Sandler trainer, underlines how developing the negotiating intelligence of sales teams can improve the bottom line faster.

- Clint Babcock

MYTH 1: It’s all about the money

I will often begin my training sessions in negotiation by asking the participants this simple question: “So, what have you already learned about negotiation?” The silence that follows speaks volumes. Finally, when someone does speak up, what they have to say usually reflects a common myth or misconception. One of the most damaging myths sounds like this: “It’s really all about the money.”

Let us say you have presented your proposal or discussed the price of your product and/ or services, and you hear something like this: “That’s too much!” Or: “I’m not going to pay that!” Or: “Your competition is cheaper.” How do you respond?

Of course, they want to get the best deal— just as you would. However, what you need to understand is that this initial reaction is just that—a first move in a bigger game. In fact, it is one of the most common negotiation gambits. Their job may be to make it about the money. Our job as professional negotiators, however, is very different: to bring the discussion back to the real issue, which is how best to solve their pain or problem with our product or solution. The first step of the Sandler negotiation process is to