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Most salespeople and business owners attend negotiations. That means it is important to learn how to negotiate more effectively. Here are five strategies that will help you improve your negotiation skills and drive more dollars to your bottom line:

The flinch is one of the oldest negotiation tactics but one of the least used. A flinch is a visible reaction to an offer or price. The objective of this negotiation tactic is to make the other people feel uncomfortable about the offer they presented. Here is an example of how it works.

A supplier quotes a price for a specific service. Flinching means you respond by exclaiming, “You want how much?!?!” You must appear shocked and surprised that they could be bold enough to request that figure. Unless the other person is a well seasoned negotiator, they will respond in one of two ways: a) they will become very uncomfortable and begin to try to rationalize their price, b) they will offer an immediate concession.

2) Recognize that people often ask for more than they expect to get.

This means you need to resist the temptation to automatically reduce your price or offer a discount. I once asked for a hefty discount on a pair of shoes hoping to get half of what I asked for. I was pleasantly surprised when the shop owner agreed to my request.

3) The person with the most information usually does better.

You need to learn as much about the other person’s situation. This is a particularly important negotiation tactic for sales people. Ask your prospect more questions about their purchase. Learn what is important to them as well as their needs and wants. Develop the habit of asking questions such as;

“What prompted you to consider a purchase of this nature?”

“Who else have you been speaking to?”

“What was your experience with…?”

“What time frames are you working with?”

“What is most important to you about this?”

It is also important to learn as much about your competitors as possible. This will help you defeat possible price objections and prevent someone from using your competitor as leverage.

4) Practice at every opportunity.

Most people hesitate to negotiate because they lack the confidence. Develop this confidence by negotiating more frequently. Ask for discounts from your suppliers. As a consumer, develop the habit of asking for a price break when you buy from a retail store. Here are a few questions or statements you can use to practice your negotiation skills:

“You’ll have to do better than that.”

“What kind of discount are you offering today?”

“That’s too expensive.” Wait for their response afterwards.

Be pleasant and persistent but not demanding. Conditioning yourself to negotiate at every opportunity will help you become more comfortable, confident and successful.

5) Maintain your walk away power.

It is better to walk away from a sale rather than make too large a concession or give a deep discount your product or service. After attending my workshops, salespeople often tell that this negotiation strategy gives them the most leverage when dealing with customers. However, it is particularly challenging to do when you are in the midst of a sales slump or slow sales period. But, remember that there will always be someone to sell to.

Negotiating is a way of life in some cultures. And most people negotiate in some way almost every day. Apply these negotiation strategies and you will notice a difference in your negotiation skills almost immediately.

二、谈判常用表达方式

Opening the Negotiations

On behalf of ... I would like to welcome you to...

It’s my pleasure to welcome you to...

Suggesting a procedure:

I would like now to begin by suggesting the following procedure (agenda).

To start with, I think we should establish the overall procedure.

As our first order of business, can we agree on a procedure?

Checking for agreement:

Does that fit in with your objectives?

Is that compatible with what you would like to see?

Does that seem acceptable to you?

Is there anything you’d like to change?

Is this okay with you?

Giving the discussion leadership to a colleague:

I will now hand you over to Mr. Brown, who is ...

I will now hand the floor over to Mr. Adams, who is...

Now let me hand the meeting over to my colleague, Ms. Jones, who...

General outline of a proposal:

Clarifying Proposals

Reviewing the previous session:

At our last meeting, we discussed...

Perhaps you will recall that during our last discussion, we decided that...

Moving on to the next point:

Could we now move on to the next subject, which is...

Let’s go on to the next subject, shall we?

Putting forward future possibilities:

Seeking clarification:

Could you clarify one point for me?

I’m not sure I fully understand your point.

What exactly do you mean by...?

Could you be more specific?

Defining a proposal more specifically:

Let me reassure you that...

I can promise you that...

Have no doubts that we will...

Going Beyond Positions to the Underlying Interests

Why would you want to...?

What would you do with...?

What is the reason for wanting to...?

Why couldn’t you...

What would be wrong with doing this?

Why would you object to...?

Exploring the Zone of Bargaining and Options

Summarizing positions up to this point:

Can we summarize your position up to this point?

Would you care to summarize your position up this point?

Confirming a negotiating position:

Is that an accurate summary of where you stand?

Would you say that is a fair representation of your position?

Probing / looking for options:

Just for the sake of argument, what if...

Can I ask a hypothetical question?　Suppose that...

Signaling the start of bargaining:

We’ve looked at what you have proposed, and we are ready to respond.

After serious consideration, we are prepared to respond to your proposal.

Responding to a proposal:

Regarding your proposal, our position is...

Our basic position is...

As far as your proposal is concerned, we think that...

Making and qualifying concessions:

We would be willing to ..., provided, of course, that...

We’d be prepared to.... However, there would be one condition.

Making counter proposals:

May we offer an alternative? We propose that...

We’d like to make an alternative proposal. We propose that...

From where we stand, a better solution might be...

Entering the Critical Phase

Identifying obstacles:

The main obstacle to progress at the moment seems to be...

The main thing that bothers us is...

One big problem we have is...

Analyzing an obstacle:

What exactly is the underlying problem here?

Let’s take a closer look at this problem.

I would like to analyze this situation and get to the bottom of the problem.

Asking for concessions:

In return for this, would you be willing to...?

We feel there has to be a trade-off here.

I’m afraid your offer doesn’t go far enough.

Unfortunately, we must decline your offer for the following reason(s).

I’m sorry, but we must respectfully decline your offer.

Let’s just confirm the details, then.

Let’s make sure we agree on these figures (dates / etc.).

Can we check these points one last time?

We would have to study this. Can we get back to you on this later?

We’ll have to consult with our colleagues back in the office. We’d like to get back to you on it.