Is putting your customer first tanking your value? You’ve heard this phrase before: “The customer is always right.” No one is going to tell you to ignore your customer’s wishes completely. But sacrificing your needs (and the needs of your business) to make your quota is a dangerous game that can leave you feeling like you lost, even when you make a sale. In this episode, your host Donald Kelly and guest Mark Raffan are here to remind us, point-blank, that a successful salesperson needs to set expectations and retain value in every negotiation.

 

There Is No “Win-Win”

• Move away from a “win-win” mindset. If you put too much effort into trying to get your customer to win, you run the risk of letting them win at your expense. Instead, hope for outcomes that you can both agree to
• Keep your goals in mind when selling. Don’t get so swept up in trying to meet your customer’s needs that you totally forget about your own (or your company’s).
• Take on deals that are profitable. Even when you’re trying to make quota, the more concessions you make, the more value you lose

 

3 Layers of Concessions

1. Conditional Giving. If a potential buyer asks you to make a concession, ask them to make a concession as well. 
2. “Portional” Giving. If a salesperson is asked to make a concession, only make a portion of it, don’t give the full concession.
3. Scarcity. When a potential buyer asks for a concession, respond by letting them know it will be difficult to do, don’t immediately accept it.

 

“I really don’t believe there is such a thing as a win-win negotiation. I think it’s a really dangerous mindset to put yourself in, especially when the market changes like this.” – Mark Raffan

 

Resources

Negotiations Ninja

Negotiations Ninja Podcast

Mark Raffan LinkedIn

 

Sponsorship Offers

1. This episode is brought to you in part by Scratchpad.

Scratchpad is the fastest way for sales professionals to update Salesforce. Move at the speed of thought with Scratchpad. Try it for free or learn more at Scratchpad.com. 

2.            This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.

I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.

 

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

hubpspot.com/marketers

bluemangostudios.com