Useful phone negotiation tactics to test out

When it comes to promoting your brand, engaging customers, and selling your product in a competitive market, all strategies are equally important. Choosing the best conversion rate optimization software, engaging through mobile channels, or writing an excellent sales script – all of these are tools you can use to put your business on the map. Here, we are going to focus on some useful phone negotiation tactics that can help you achieve excellent results!

Being pushy, aggressive, or using hard negotiation tactics used to be very popular. People thought this method was the most effective and successful. However, engaging with potential customers in such ways nowadays is more likely to create tension and negative feelings. Your prospects will become too defensive or too aggressive and unwilling to listen and compromise. Instead, a much better way to achieve your goals is to build trust, ask a lot of questions, and work together to reach a solution that is favorable to both parties. With that in mind, here are some negotiation strategies you might want to test out!

Analyze your strengths and your prospect’s needs

Keep the value of your product in mind at all times. Examine what you offer and in what ways it can benefit your potential customer. To do this most effectively, it’s best to also analyze what your prospect needs and expects from your product. In a way, the process is similar to guidelines on how to convert more leads into sales. Your goal is to engage the prospect and turn them into a returning client. And knowing what they want and what their pain points are are the key to achieving this goal. Additionally, being persuasive over the phone will be much more manageable if you focus on the relevant aspects of your product from the start.

Set your goals and objectives before the phone call

Before you make the phone call, it’s crucial to ask yourself a few important questions. Consider the answers and focus on what your objectives are. Not having a clear target can lead to meandering conservation, confusion, and unwanted digressions. Instead, define the answers to the following questions:

• What is the most desirable result of this call?
• What do I want to achieve?
• How am I to accomplish my goals?

Decide on the best result, but also set minimums in advance

In addition to that, be prepared for not achieving everything you want. Aim high but be ready to agree to some concessions. However, this doesn’t mean you should agree with everything and set your bar too low. On the contrary, make your decision based on the minimum you’re willing to accept. This will leave you with enough room to negotiate and compromise to achieve the most favorable result for both of you.

Instead of price, find something else you can negotiate

Inexperienced sales reps often resort to dropping the price in order to negotiate a better deal as soon as possible. However, this is the last thing you should do. On the contrary, one of the most useful phone negotiation tactics is to have many other negotiables available.

While many buyers will tell you that the price is the issue, it’s often not true. They’re not necessarily lying on purpose – rather they’re not sure themselves where the issue is. In fact, they’re actually worried about how valuable and useful your product is. So, instead, prove to them that your product is worth the price and focus on how they’ll benefit from using it. Additionally, offer them some concessions that are low in value to you, but have significant value for them.

• For example, you can offer to move up the delivery date or extend the warranty. Or you can offer alternative paying methods or include some extra features and products. All of these have a high perceived value and your prospects will certainly appreciate them.

One of the key phone negotiation tactics is to research your prospect in advance

We’ve already touched upon this topic, but it’s of vital importance. The more you know about your potential client, the more tailor-made offers you’ll be able to make. Focus on their needs, business policies, and strategies. Like the lead engagement software collects data about visitors on your website, you need to collect data about your prospects before the phone call. That way you’ll know what to expect and you’ll be able to set realistic goals.

Ensure you’re dealing with the person in charge

Additionally, if you’re dealing with a new prospect, make sure you’re talking to and negotiating with a DM – a decision-maker. Nothing is more disappointing than when you are about to close the deal and then you find out you have to start all over.

Ask the relevant questions

Asking questions and listening attentively is one of the most useful negotiating tactics. It enables you to establish rapport and create trust between you and the prospect. What’s more, it helps you learn more about the prospect and adjust your tactics to achieve the best result. However, for this to work you need to ask good and relevant questions.

For example, avoid yes/no and leading questions. Instead, let them open up about their problems – ask neutral questions that will encourage them to give detailed answers.

Don’t split the difference – it’s one of the most useful phone negotiation tactics

This essentially means that you have your anchor price and the prospect has theirs. Customers will often suggest that you meet in the middle. Unfortunately, that middle is often much lower than your starting price. Don’t fall for that. Instead, negotiate other aspects of the sale or offer a price that is slightly lower than your anchor.

• Extra tip: Be prepared for your prospect’s potential tactics and think of the ways to counteract them in advance.

Get something in return for every concession you give

Making concessions is a natural part of every negotiation. After all, the goal is to reach a solution that both sides will agree upon. So, for everything extra you give, ask for something in return. That way both parties will be satisfied with what they gain through mutual cooperation.

The bottom line

Being a successful sales rep requires dedication and skill. This is especially true when it comes to engaging customers over the phone. However, if you prepare well and employ these useful phone negotiation tactics, you’ll be able to create more leads and boost your sales as well.