Negotiation stage? Are you there?
Congrats! You are just one step to closing the deal.
Now everything depends on how the negotiation goes – you close the deal or lose the deal or things remain status quo for some more time as there was no mutually satisfactory agreement.
Choosing a face to face meeting for sales negotiations will give a better opportunity for the seller to understand the buyer’s intent and use the negotiation terms accordingly to close the deal. If the buyer recommends having the discussion continued over an email or whatsapp or on an audio call, don’t hesitate to insist on having a face-face meeting.
Reasons for Face-face meetings –
We address this in 5 points –
- Email & whatsapp are asynchronous communication channels and they are not ideal for negotiation discussions.In Email & Whats app, the buyer has an option to postpone or delay their response or limit their response or not respond at all.
- In phone calls and face-face meetings, the communication is synchronous which means real time and the discussion can have instant replies or objections or queries,etc presenting the seller an opportunity to clear the objections in real time and take commitment from the buyer and close the deal.
- Phone calls still have challenges as understanding the buyer intent via non verbal cues(Body language, gestures,etc.) is not possible.
- Researches on communication provide a 7-38-55 rule. As per this, in communication only 7% is actual words spoken, 38% is tone of the voice and 55% is Non-Verbal.
- Finally, face-face meetings are the best opportunity because – they usually offer more discussion time to present or exchange information, clarify queries and bargain. They offer non verbal cues like body language and gestures of the buyer that can reflect buyers intent and may reveal buyers weakness which can be utilised by the seller to make progress in the deal.
There can be instances of the buyer insisting on discussions via audio bridge or an email from you with the final offer,etc. Bottom line is, whatever may be the negotiation mode, preparation is a must for successful sales negotiation. The seller should know their objectives, need of their product or service to the buyer, any weaknesses the buyer has that can be utilised in closing the deal. The seller needs to be an active listener, empathetic, know their final offer and also know when to walk-away politely from the deal.
We will continue to bring more details on sales negotiations, process, tips & tricks throughout our Negotiation series.
If you have any suggestions or queries please feel free to write in the comments section.
