Just as a buyer can employ certain tactics to strengthen her negotiation position and results, a seller can do certain things to benefit his position and results. It is learned negotiation skills that give a seller advantage and the consistent application of them will pay off over time.
In a previous article, I noted how the buyer in a negotiation usually has the upper hand, because there are more things a buyer can do to successfully conclude a deal. The reason for this is fairly obvious: a seller has a product or service they need to sell to make money, and in almost every market on the planet, there is substantial competition for that product or service. Buyers can always go elsewhere and try to get a better deal if they don’t like the one they are engaged in. It’s what makes selling anything a tough, tough job.
But, there are things a seller can do to help his position. Here we will discuss a few.
1. Make it clear you have the buyer’s best interest at heart.
This means be sincere and prove it. Using over-baked, cliche ridden lines about how much the you care for the buyer and will suffer a loss just to make her a great deal – does not cut it. Buyers see through this and it has the reverse affect of what most cheesy sellers are hoping for when they use this method. Buyers want to know the seller is there for something more than simply making money. Buyer’s understand why the seller is selling (to make money), so good sellers reveal to buyers there is more to it than just that. Communicating to the buyer that you love what you do, and giving them specific reasons why, will go a long way toward lessening the buyer’s concern that she will only be sold the most expensive product at the highest margin.
Make it personal. Tell the buyer you sincerely hope she will be coming back to see you on her next purchase because you hope to establish a strong, ongoing relationship. Few people are so hard nosed they will not react positively to a sincere offer of friendship. As a seller, you can make use of the natural human tendency to want more friendships. And if a buyer sees you as a friend instead of a huckster, she will benefit you with a sale and more to come.
2. Take a “Low Key” approach.
A low key approach is self-explanatory. It means “not high key”. A high key approach is talking a mile a minute, asking insincere questions, laughing inappropriately and too often, showing the buyer twice as much product as she needs to see and telling her twice as much information as she needs to know until she buys something… just to get rid of you. Interestingly, most people who go into sales naturally take this approach with buyers. And it usually does not work.
A low key approach is vital for a seller seeking to use negotiation skills to ensure a profitable outcome. This seller reminds the buyer he is there to assist her – not push her. He suggests products or services that may meet her needs and if they don’t, he will gladly refer her elsewhere. He reminds her he wants her to be happy, but not so that he makes a fat commission or profit, but so that she considers him a consultant, someone to whom she will come back to for counsel, or advice.
3. Apply the lever of time.
A buyer can negotiate like a bulldog. Usually a seller cannot. Again, this is because a buyer can usually walk if they are unhappy, whereas a seller must find another buyer if there is no sale. However, a seller does have the issue of time to his advantage.
Everyone has a limited amount of time. Nothing could be more obvious. Well, for a buyer, this has a cost, because if a buyer cannot make a deal work, she must go on to the next seller, and try again. And if that seller cannot make a deal or does not have what she needs, she must move on again. And again.
For most buyers, this a nightmare. Unless they are simply having fun with the buying process (and some people actually do), there is a strong likelihood the buyer simply wants to find the right product or service at the right price and get it done. Negotiating can be tiring and take away from other productive uses of one’s time.
A clever seller keeps this truth in mind at all times. He will engage with the buyer in every way possible, giving her total focus and attention and immersing her in the process of buying as much as he possibly can, for as long as he can, so that she will not be inclined to end the process and go somewhere else and start the whole thing over. As a seller, you remind the buyer how much she has learned about your product or service, how much you have devoted yourself to working through the deal, and how much more you are willing to do to see a beneficial result for both parties.
Now some sellers push this concept by claiming deadlines, such as a sale ending in 10 hours, or competition, such as another buyer who is waiting to make an offer on the same product, but often these are disingenuous methods of pushing buyers to buy before considering further. These methods may work, but if they are false, and a buyer learns of it, you may lose a customer for life. It is better to be straightforward, and tell the buyer about something imminent if it is true, but never use it to push buyer to a decision.
Just as a buyer can make productive use of negotiating skills, a seller can employ methods to give him a greater likelihood of success. Negotiating is a crucial element of buying and selling almost anything, and those who know the principles are most often the ones who realize the profitable deals.