Sales Negotiation Training: The Top Benefits

A teenager walks into a car dealership.

No, this is not the setup for a joke with a bad punchline. The teenager is you in this instance, and we are about to describe a scenario that most likely feels very familiar to you.

So again: let’s flashback. You walk into a car dealership as a teen and you have been saving up basically since you first got an allowance. You passed your driver’s test and are the proud owner of a shiny, new piece of plastic that says you are legally able to drive anywhere you like. Oh, the possibilities!

Now, you are ready to buy your first car. You have heard countless tales of the fabled car salesman, and needless to say, you’re intimidated.

But alas, the whole process goes pretty well. You have your car, most importantly. But you are also proud of yourself for standing your ground and paying much less than the initial asking price.

Do you know where we’re headed with this? Yep. You have been honing your sales negotiation skills for far longer than you realize. And it’s time to revisit them in your professional life with sales negotiation training.

What Exactly is a Negotiation Skill?

Has it been a while for you? Since you gave much thought to how to negotiate in sales? Sales negotiation training may be the last thing on your mind.

But it shouldn’t be. And we will tell you why that is later, but for now just think about that word: negotiation.

Similar to, well, everything else, it comes from a Latin root. It’s been around for a while. Its Latin root means “the doing of business.”

So it originally popped up when the Romans found themselves in similar situations to teenage-you, bartering for goods. They may not have had sales negotiation training back then, but times have changed.

Now, negotiation refers to when you take part in persuasive interactions and communication with another party. The end goal is to sway one party to the other party’s point of view, with sales in particular. It is when you are trying to close a sale, but that sale is “in progress” instead of “closed.”

When it comes to situational sales negotiation, your business will come across many different instances. These are instances where negotiation has a big impact, like:

How much delivery costs
When you can deliver something
Warranties and extended warranty policies
Customer service satisfaction
And more

As you can see, you can find sales negotiation at every stage of the sales process. From sales lead generation to business leads (B2B leads and otherwise) to anything in between, sales negotiations are there.

Negotiation skills in sales, then, are how you stay abreast of the whole process. They allow you to anticipate what will happen as far as negotiating and be proactive with a solution.

What Makes a Good Sales Negotiation Training?

So you know that you need sales negotiation training. But what makes quality negotiations training courses? How do you know you are signing up for the right negotiation seminar? We have some dos and don’ts to look out for.

First, you want to avoid any tricky “tactics.” Tactics are the hoaxes that some negotiators rely on to get the “best deal” money can buy, often slighting you in the process. They work for them in the short term, but they do not go farther than that.

There are a handful of tactics to look out for, like preconditioning. That is when a business lead might put you on edge right off the bat. They are not open to your ideas and upsells. Their goal is to make you scramble to fill their silence and offer them something extra for less money. A good sales negotiation training teaches you how to address this when negotiating sales leads.

Quality negotiation training will also teach you how to handle some other tricks you run into when you negotiate with your leads. These include:

When clients shift their own issues onto you. When they expect you to solve them on their behalf for a minimal price on their end.
Their implication is that they are not the primary decision-maker. Or, that they have to “consult with their higher-up” before they choose to buy from you.
When they try to get you to give away more than you already agreed upon with them. This often happens at the end of the negotiation process when you are about to close.
Their pressure is that they are more than willing to work with what you agreed upon, but their “bad cop” coworker wants more. In other words, when they confuse you by saying they are A-OK with your offer. Yet someone else would be really unhappy if they settled with where they are now in the negotiation process.

Why is Good Sales Negotiation Training Important?

First of all, proper sales negotiation training is important because everyone has different opinions, values, and desires. You have to be able to meet them (or negotiate with them) somewhere where you both benefit to close the sales you need.

You have to learn how to do that, or else you will build a poor reputation where nobody wants to come to you to buy. Without the right knowledge and skills, you have a lot of potential customers. But they will prefer to head to your competitors to buy what they need, over and over again.

Not to mention, if you do not know how to negotiate with these new-age buyers, they realize that right away. They have access to resources that can teach them all about the buying process. They will feel like you are slighting them if you cannot negotiate well.

Know the Four Phases of Negotiation

You have to take actionable steps to reach your goals. The other end of your negotiation efforts has the same goals and also has to take steps to achieve them. Here are the four phases of those actions as you reach the end of your negotiations.

1. Exchanging Information

Here, the tactics you use should get both you and your buyer more critical information about each other. What information shapes the other person’s decisions?

Pinpoint this criteria.

2. Bargaining

Reference that information. Now, both of you will use it to see where there is wiggle room from the other side.

In this phase, make sure the things that give you advantage can also flip around and act as advantages to the other party.

3. Closing

This is when you grab your pen and make some headway. Both of you analyze what the two of you agreed upon during the negotiation. Then, you confirm each of those points.

It is the art of sealing the deal and getting the explicit commitment that you can move on and up from here.

4. Execution

Make it happen! What steps will you take to get results from both ends? Don’t just think about them. Take them.

Top Reasons Your Team Needs Sales Negotiation Training

You already knew that negotiation was everywhere in sales. But now you have a better understanding of why you need sales negotiation training right now to boost your sales performance.

Here are our top reasons you need sales negotiation training.

To Build Stronger Customer Relationships

Through sales negotiation training, whether that is corporate negotiation training or otherwise, you improve your customer relationships.

These courses will teach you how to better serve your customers by identifying what they need and what they desire.

You can learn how to use active listening skills. These help you to figure out which of your products or services will give your buyers the right kind of help. So build those stronger customer relationships. You will keep your loyal customers and attract new ones who want to stay on with your brand.

To Emphasize Solution Pricing

Modern buyers want solutions, not products or services. And they want your prices to reflect that.

With sales negotiation training, you can teach your sales reps (and yourself!) how to provide these solutions in what you sell and how you price it.

Your sales team has to know all the aspects of your pricing system. Then, they will know the answers to any pricing-related questions your clients may have.

To Avoid Damaging Client Relationships

Sure, negotiations can be tough at times. But they should never be so tough as to damage your client relationships.

Solid sales negotiation training teaches you how to progress in the negotiation process in a positive way. Then, you keep on those clients whom you adore and can go back to them for sales in the future.

To Deliver Lasting, Quality Solutions

You should never look for solutions for your business that will only give you instant gratification. That goes for any aspect of your company. All solutions should consider long-lasting effects and growth.

Good sales negotiation training provides you with solutions you can use time and again.

To Prevent Future Problems and Conflicts

Similar to above, your training should think of the future. If it does, you have a resource to turn to when you have to solve any conflict later on.

Better yet, you will not have many conflicts later to speak of at all.

To Create Future Sales Opportunities

That first negotiation with a lead is a first impression. After negotiation training, you will make it a good one. This way, it is easier to open the door to sales opportunities down the road.

Conclusion

Closing the deal after extensive negotiation feels sweet, doesn’t it? Once you have the right sales negotiation training, it will feel even sweeter.

We know all about that feeling at Selling Revolution.

Our team has over 40 years of experience in providing tailor-fit solutions to small businesses like yours. We have the perfectly honed sales training with the right amount of follow-through to equip your team with the tools they need to succeed.

And we have more customized solutions waiting for you, too. But that’s the thing: we have to customize them. We can’t do that without a little help from your end, right?

We want to get to know you. And we want you to grow and succeed in the long run. So what are you waiting for? Click here to book a call with the pros at Selling Revolution.