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Hidden Needs Drive Sales Negotiations
All sales negotiations are driven by both public and private
needs. If you can understand and deal with the other side's
hidden needs,
then you'll have more power during the negotiation.
It's What Lies Below The Surface That Really Matters
When we enter into a sales negotiation, we like to kid
ourselves that we know what the other side is looking to get out
of the negotiation. At least
on the surface,
all sales negotiations look the same.
The easy-to-see desires of the other side generally come down
to one of three things:
money, goods, and / or services. This is what we
can see and this is what we spend our time preparing to
negotiate. However, that's really only part of the story.
Knowledge Of Hidden Needs Boosts Your Power
I'm sure that you're probably already agreeing with me that
knowing the other side of the table's hidden needs would be
advantageous when you are getting ready to negotiate. However,
did you know that this knowledge will increase your
negotiating power?
Remember that power in a sales negotiation is a difficult
thing to nail down. However, the more that you know about the
other side and their hidden needs, then the
more negotiating power
you'll have.
The Search For Hidden Needs
If we can all agree that identifying the other side's hidden
needs is a good thing, than all that is left for us to talk
about is just exactly
HOW you can go about doing that. The key is to
have a good set of questions.
These are the questions that you need to ask yourself
BEFORE you enter
into a sales negotiation. Not every question will pertain to
this specific negotiation and your list will evolve over time.
Here's a good set of questions for you to start asking yourself:
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Do they want to make their lives easier?
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Do they want to appear to be competent?
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Do they want peace of mind?
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Do they want to be listened to?
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Do they want freedom of choice?
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Do they want to keep their job?
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Do they want recognition?
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Do they want to be liked?
Final Thoughts
As you enter into a sales negotiation, you need to realize
that the other side of the table probably has more hidden needs
than they have publicly known needs. What this means for you is
that the other side of the table won't say "yes" to your
requests until after at least some of their hidden wants
have been fulfilled.
In the end, all negotiating is about making sure that you have
enough power to be successful. One of the most important keys is
to realize that we need to also
address the other side of the
table's hidden needs in order reach an agreement
that both sides can live with.
If you can learn to spot these hidden needs before you enter
into your next negotiation, then you will be able to close
better deals
and close them quicker.
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Dr. Jim Anderson
http://www.TheAccidentalNegotiator.com
Dr. Jim Anderson has spent over 20 successful years
negotiating sales of all sizes. Dr. Anderson offers you his
insights on how to develop your negotiating skills so that
you can approach sales negotiations with more confidence
that you'll be able close more deals and close them faster!
Oh,
and if you want to follow Dr. Anderson on Twitter, he can be
found at
http://twitter.com/drjimanderson. |
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