There's a notion that you never know what's going to happen in a negotiation.  In fact, by answering two questions before you get to the face-to-face part of negotiation, the less likely you will be surprised by anything that comes at you.  Listen to Brian Dietmeyer talk about these two questions in this short video.

Here's what your peers found worthwhile reading in April about B2B negotiation:

There are numerous ways to solicit information about a business negotiation and the more obvious you are, the less likely it is that you'll get the information you're looking for. When you're validating your estimation of your customer's wish list, are you getting good answers to these three questions?

Take five minutes to look at what your peers are finding worthwhile reading about B2B negotiation from the B2B Street Fighting blog:

Chances are your buyer cannot get the "same thing" cheaper. In virtually every business negotiation where there are professional buyers on one side of the deal and professional sellers on the other, the business solution being negotiated has virtually no chance of being "the same" as what your competitor is offering.

You may never have used the expression Consequences of No Agreement, but chances are that you've thought about them.  After all, you know that something is going to happen if you don't make a deal.  As the seller, your Consequences of No Agreement - your alternative to making a deal - is most likely going to be losing the sale.  Your customer generally has three possible alternatives to reaching agreement with you.  He or she can:

Check out what your peers are finding worthwhile reading:

Think! Inc. provides research-based training, responsive to the root causes of your unique situation to help your salespeople become more successful negotiators.  All the countermeasures, tactics, behaviors, tips, tricks and gimmicks typically taught by negotiation "training" or other "experts" aren't cures. In fact, they have few, if any, long-term, positive effects on the negotiating skills of an individual or the negotiating competency of an organization. A company training its salesforce in such a traditional soft skills approach to negotiation can expect a 2% bump in negotiation effectiveness.

The concept of trading for something of equal or greater value avoids value-detracting concessions and expands the opportunity for all. Learning this was a good first step in helping the Key Account Managers (KAM) at Nalco prevent value loss. They practiced expanding the financial pie of a negotitation by adding in as many value-creating elements as possible. A more in-depth analysis taught them how to prioritize and articulate the risks (terms and conditions) and investments (prices) for both sides.  

Don't miss out on what your peers are finding worthwhile reading about negotiating!