Podcast — AoS #21: Mastering Effective Negotiation Strategies with Paul Lanigan
Paul explains the most important tips to excelling in your negotiations from personal life to board room.
This podcast is an excellent listen for anyone who:
- Wants to know how to add value… and RECEIVE value in return.
- Is curious about how the experts conduct negotiations.
- Deals with customers, prospects, or procurement on a regular basis.
- Believes that honesty is (or is not) the best policy.
- Wants to learn the proper mindset for winning in negotiations.
In this episode of The Art of Sales Podcast, we chat with Paul Lanigan, Managing Director of Sandler Sales Institute in Dublin, about how to master the art of negotiations.
(5:30) How to ensure value in both directions
- What is negotiation really all about?
- How to create and maintain leverage.
- Strategies for dealing with procurement analysts.
- Understanding the goals and needs of who you are negotiating with.
(17:38) Are negotiations always adversarial?
- Finding the balance between giving in too easy and being overly demanding.
- The importance of quality of information. Information is KEY!
- Training examples for teaching people negotiation skills.
(27:04) Is it ever good strategy to be the first to give a concession?
“Concessions are not always on price. Sometimes other things are far more valuable… it is usually not their money, but it is their ass on the line.”
- People want to avoid the embarrassment of finding out that they could have gotten a better price. Hence, asking for discount, etc…
- Stage #1: Giving nothing but a reward and reassurance.
- Stage #2: Tactic handling — ensure they know they are working for it.
- Stage #3: Trading concessions — Give very little and don’t bend on price.
- Bottom line: Give concessions that don’t cost much but are of high value. Never give something without getting equal or greater value in return.
(34:50) Are there unspoken roles of professional negotiation?
- Recognizing the language and approach of professional negotiations. Example: Good Cop/Bad Cop routines, etc.
“They’ll only appreciate what they get if they’ve worked hard for it.”
(38:06) Does honesty work against you in negotiations? Or is it a benefit?
- Can you cut through the games and get straight down to honest business?
- “Never believe a salesperson when they tell you “this is the best I can do””.
- Honesty is not a bad thing, but that doesn’t mean that people won’t sometimes use it against you.
- “But, isn’t the most important rule in sales trust and honesty?…”
- Difference between customer/prospect and procurement when at the negotiations table.
“Just because you’re honest doesn’t mean you have to tell them everything.”
- Honesty will very often work its way back to you in a positive way.
( 51:50) Closing round
- The mindset you need to have during negotiations.
- Why negotiate?
- When should you stop negotiating?
- When should you walk away?
- How much time should you spend researching for negotiations?
- What motivates Paul in life?
- What does Paul love about sales?
- Paul’s main takeaways from this podcast.
- Where can listeners find out more about Paul? (Links below his bio)
Speakers Paul mentioned:
- Amy Cuddy, body language:
- Joe Auer, “Do Better Deals” — http://www.dobetterdeals.com/
Background
Throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s, Paul earned a living as a technical sales support guy at organisations such as GPT, Tellabs, AT&T and Motorola.
He witnessed, first-hand the respect the salespeople commanded from their peers, managers and customers and how no two days were ever the same. He felt that, as the technical guy, he was already qualified, so he moved into a sales position with a small startup software company.
It didn’t take long before he found out that he knew nothing about sales. He was out of his depth and in over his head. He was working incredibly long hours making the cold calls and he was getting meetings. But, something was wrong…….. despite good training……he simply wasn’t succeeding.
As a result he sought help from some of the senior, high performing salespeople he knew. A name that popped up repeatedly was the Sandler Sales Institute. He booked himself on the next available bootcamp and what he learned made him wonder why he hadn’t done this a lot sooner.
Sure, he learned great techniques, but that was a given. It was what he learnt about mindset and his own self-limiting beliefs that underpinnned the breakthrough for him.
The training he received was life changing. He believed in it so much that he approached Sandler with a view to setting up the first Sandler Training centre outside North America. As a result, Sandler Ireland is the longest running Sandler Franchise outside North America.
Paul is now fortunate to count some of the worlds most admired companies amongst his client list, including: Oracle, IBM, Salesforce, British Airways, EMC, L’Oreal, and many others.
Connect with Paul:
Paul’s YouTube — (His videos are excellent!)
To learn more about sales motivation strategies, visit our website today!
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