Vertical Pulse

Leverage

I recently Leverage: How to Get It & How to Keep It in Any Negotiation by Roger Volkema. This was a very informative book and an pleasurable read. The following are among the insights found in Leverage:

• Social leverage is determined as follows - The more it costs Party B not to have an agreement with Party A, the more leverage Party A has.
• The following are ways to decrease the other party's leverage. Feigning disinterest in a counterpart's product or service; identifying product/service deficiencies; and, expanding the purpose of your endeavor. By expanding the original purpose of your endeavor, you open up a new set of options and reduce the strength of your desire. And by reducing the strength of your desire, you decrease the other party's leverage.
• In trying to determine if your counterparty is feigning disinterest or alternatives, research on lying and deception suggests that, in general, such individuals tend to speak more slowly, include more pauses in their speech, and stutter more. They may speak in a voice that is slightly higher pitched. Their impressions often appear to be rigid, planned and rehearsed, resulting in less body movement.
• A successful negotiation is one where you get what you want, and the other party feels good enough about the encounter that he wants to negotiate with you in the future.

Selling to Anyone Over the Phone

I recently read Selling to Anyone Over the Phone by Renee P. Walkup and Sandra McKee. This book contained many kernels of wisdom. Among these kernels are:

• Smile when talking on the phone. Advantages to smiling include: a) You sound friendlier when you smile while talking on the phone because your vocal chords actually lift up. b) When you smile, the action triggers endorphins in your brain, which makes you feel better. c) When you smile, you pull your cheek muscles up, making your diction clearer.
• A good sales process to follow is represented by the acronym PLAYING. The letters in this acronym stand for: P - Plan you call; L - Listen to the customer; A - Ask high-value questions; Y - Yak less; I - Involve your customer; N - Negotiate the close; G - Gain a Commitment.
• Maintain Efficiency - You can write faster with pens than pencils. It is productive to look up phone numbers for your call day in advance. Turn off audible signals such as email, PDAs and mobile phones so as to avoid distractions.
• Maintain your Energy Level - During the work day, it might be better to eat small amounts of food at regular intervals. Complex carbohydrates (whole grains, vegetables) and proteins that are not heavy in fat (nuts, chicken, fish) are good. Avoid meats or tryptophans (turkey or meat products) because these foods have a tendency to make you sleepy. Citrus and sugary foods create phlegm, which makes you need to clear your throat or cough during calls.
• Take Notes of Sales Calls - Be sure to copy down at least three or four exact quotes of what the customer says. Giving the customer back his or her own words as often as possible will help you to establish rapport and close more business because customers love to hear how smart they are.
• Stay Mentally Engaged - When you begin zoning out of the conversation, you can: a) Doodle - which engages the right hemisphere of your brain. b) Play with a squeeze ball (left hand to engage the right brain). c) Walking around will cause more blood to move through your body. You will get more oxygen to your brain. Also, when you walk around, you can move your arms more freely and this produces a better tonal emphasis in your calls.
• Don't Appear to be Argumentative - When rebutting a rejection from a customer, do not respond with the word "but". Rather agree with most of the customer's premise and then use the word "and" to begin your rebuttal.
• Never use the phrase "I think". The customer doesn't care what you think. The customer only cares what they think. Right or wrong, the customer's perception of the salesperson is that their thoughts are biased since they work on commission.
• In order to reduce the chances of encountering "buyer's remorse", show your excitement for having reached an understanding. Thank the customer and then begin the delivery process.

Secrets of Power Negotiating for Salespeople

I recently read Secrets of Power Negotiating for Salespeople by Roger Dawson. I found this book to provide excellent insight into selling and negotiating. Among the kernels of wisdom imparted by Roger Dawson are the following:

• You should ask for more than you expect to get because a) it gives you some negotiating room; b) you might get what you are asking for; c) it raises the perceived value of your product or service; d) it allows the counterparty to retain his ego when he believes he will win a concession; and, e) you can create a climate where the buyer feels that he won.
• Never say yes to the first offer or counter offer from the buyer. It automatically triggers two thoughts: "I could have done better" and "Something must be wrong."
• When a buyer hesitates to make a purchase by claiming that they need the approval of a higher authority you should a) appeal to their ego; b) get their commitment that they will recommend the purchase to their higher authority; and c) go to a qualified subject to close. An example of the latter is "We will assume that you will sign the contract unless your lawyers veto it within 24 hours."
• While the value of a material object may go up, the value of services always appears to go down. Never make a concession and trust that the other side will make it up to you later. Always negotiate your fee before you do the work.
• Never offer to split the difference between the offer and the bid. Forcing the other side to do so gives you room to offer to split a narrower range of differences. For instance, if the bid is $10,000 and the offer is $14,000, the buyer is better off forcing the seller to offer $12,000 and then the buyer can offer to split that difference and pay only $11,000.
• When asked for a small concession by the other side, always ask for something in return. Doing so elevates the value of the concession so that you can use it as a trade-off later. Most important, it stops the grinding away process.
• When you have to make concessions, it is best to make the initial concession reasonable - maybe half of your negotiating range. Then, each subsequent concession should be progressively smaller. This is because you are communicating that the other side is not going to do any better.