At the negotiating table, the pressure we feel from commoditization is both common and pervasive.  It can often be crippling because it limits our options.  You think less clearly and have a harder time focusing on your goals.  As a result, you make bad decisions - based on temporary conditions - that last, in some cases, forever.

The just released summary of B2B Street Fighting is now available from getAbstract.  In this Abstract, you will learn:

Senior executives know that, beyond mergers and acquisitions, a company's growth is driven one deal at a time by the way direct and indirect sales people sell and negotiate.  That's why American corporations spend $7.2 billion every year on sales processes, account managment skills, negotiation, and opportunity management training.  That's an average of $347, 000 per company, according to SellingPower.  But beyond proprietary (and perhaps biased) consulting reports and high-level academic papers on change, there's little information available on whether or not those investing the money are achieving a return on their investment that's at least equal to -- if not better than -- their cost of capital.

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.

Chances are, your company clearly has value (or you'd be out of business by now), but your external value (in the market) can quickly become diluted when your own company's internal estimation of that value is unclear, unfocused or even unwritten.

Beginning again in January, 2012, ESR’s Dave Stein will be moderating four new, unscripted, unedited panel discussions on today’s hot button sales issues. Join online to listen, ask questions, and get valuable insights from 16 sales training industry leaders. Archives of the previous Sales Thought-Leader Series is here.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to rethink where you're headed.  We've also found that bringing all stakeholders together to hash this out can be complex and at some times, just downright difficult.  But getting everyone to focus on two or three main areas for the year will bring results.

When it comes to business negotiation, the only genuine negotiation power resides in 'the gap.'  What's the gap?  It's what you have that the competition doesn't.  And if you think what you have to offer looks exactly the same as the competition, you desperately need a fresh perspective!

As we come to the start of a new year, most of us review where we've been and where we're going.  If you'd like to confidently stride into all of your upcoming business negotiations, you'll want to read these four tips!

Tip #1:  The Four Key Premises of Value
Value is not a trophy or mission statement you come up with once, put up on a shelf and take down occasionally to dust.  Value is a living, breathing thing; an ecosystem, if you will, that really does need to be properly fed and watered.  It is not a list of static statements!

Do you know what makes a "good" deal for your company? Have you asked Legal, Sales Management, Marketing, Operations, Finance and IT? Representatives from each of these stakeholders group may bring to light areas you hadn't even considered.