Trading helps you keep all the pieces of a deal in context, so you can keep the conversation away from price alone. Put simply, trading is the art of asking the buyer for something in return when he makes demands of you - whether for a lower price or other concessions. Trading is the heart and soul of negotiating. Done well, it combats pressure from the buyer to reduce the price of a deal or give away all manner of "stuff" for free, and sometimes less.

Most buyers are looking for solutions to problems or enhancements to their value chain.  Trading enables you to assist these buyers in solving problems or improving processes, creating value for both sides.

It's important not to let this become an oversimplified discussion of price.  Even when price is a buyer's singular focus, there is just too much value at stake for both sides to ignore the other interdependent, moving parts of the deal.  Remember, money is just one aspect of negotiation, not the be-all and end-all.  There are many currencies in a B2B deal.

It's key to remember there are multiple people on your side of the deal and multiple influencers on the customer's side of the deal, all of whom have trading items of interest.  Rarely do they have all the trade data handy in one place.  By thinking through many of the deal items in advance, for both sides, you can literally take proactive control of the negotiation.  Even if you're only 50% to 60% accurate, you still will likely have more data than your customers or competitors.

You can read more about trading by requesting the article below.