I’ve been in the sales business for more than 10 years, and based on my experience only 10% of prospects that I’ve encountered will say, yes – even if they are at some point planning to purchase something.

Negotiations, rebut, probing – whatever you call it, it is the most crucial part of your sales call. This is the part where your prospect will listen and allow you to talk (that is if you’re making sense) or they’ll block your call, forever.

Admit it, whether you’re in Australia or other parts of the world, negotiations will always be part of your B2B sales calls. You might be lucky with some prospects, but most of the time you won’t. But what really makes all the difference here is, YOU!

As a salesperson, it is your job to convince your prospect to listen and find out if you can help or provide solutions to your their problems. Negotiating can be tricky. If you haven’t done this before or is new to this, here’s how to do it like a pro.

Prepare

Decision makers are busy most of the time. So it’s difficult to get hold of them. However, once you get to speak with them, you have to make the most of their time and make sure the opportunity given to you is not wasted. Sales pre-planning and preparation is important in order to improve the quality of how you communicate with your prospects.  

What to prepare?

• Who to look for?
• What is the goal of my call?
• Read your opening spiel out loud so I won’t sound like a robot. (Know when to pause and when to stop)
• What do I need to find out or what questions do I need to ask my prospect?
• Prepare common rebuttals for possible objections.

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Don’t avoid negotiations

Many salespeople tend to avoid negotiations because of fear. Fear that they might not close the deal and fear that they might screw the call-up. However, the fact that you are trying to neglect a simple question or an objection means you’re being rude. This leads to a loss of deal.

Negotiations are an opportunity for the salesperson to identify the problem and offer a solution. However, the result of the negotiation will depend on how you handle and your approach to every negotiation.

What to avoid when negotiating with your prospects?

• Avoid bragging too much about your company and your product. Instead, focus on your prospect’s needs. You can ask; “What are you looking for in a product?’ or “Are there any features that you wish to have?” Focus on what they want and offer as to what your product can do about it. Don’t mention all the benefits they can get especially if that’s not what they are looking for. Here’s how to gain your prospect’s full trust.
• Never say, “We can do that.” for them to decide to buy from you especially if you know your company can’t provide that.

Related: Don’t be Annoying: 3 Sales Mistakes that Make You Look Dumb

Know when to negotiate

As a salesperson, your goal is not just to sell and close the deal, but find out if there is an opportunity. If there is, then you must negotiate in order to close the deal. But how will you know if there is an opportunity and it is worth to negotiate?

• If the prospect is hesitant but is somehow interested.
• If you’re in this situation ask about their current setup.
• If the prospect says he’s not interested but has problems within their organization. 

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• What to do? Focus on their problems and offer what your product or service can do to help them resolve their issues.
• If the prospect says not now.
• You can ask; “When is their next project?” Or ”When is the best time to call back to discuss their next project?”

Negotiation is more effective if you know how to communicate clearly and confidently with your prospects. The more expensive your product is, the harder it is to sell. So learn to negotiate like a pro and handle objections well by addressing on your prospect’s concern.