Ever wonder why some training initiatives are totally embraced and seem to become "embedded into the DNA of the organization?" We did, too.

Because business negotiation is such a dynamic process, taking an organizational approach to negotiation greatly increases the likelihood of sellers being able to establish and maintain successful, long-term relationships with their customers while achieving their goals.

In whatever fashion you choose to celebrate the holidays, know that we at Think! Inc. wish each of you peace, love and joy!

About 30 years ago, the perception of a great salesperson evolved from a back-slapping pitch agent to a highly analytical professional who can expertly wield repeatable sales processes to uncover client needs and leverage their value proposition to meet them.  Negotiation hasn't made that leap if you consider that:

I recently heard a renowned negotiation guru refer to Professional Sports Agents as “Parasitic Intermediaries.” I immediately had a flashback to the movie Jerry Maguire, and the famous line: “show me the money!” However, if we think about it, it does make quite a bit of sense. Why would someone hand over their power to negotiate to another? Agents will usually tell you it’s because they have more ‘experience’ negotiating and are more ‘familiar’ with the details and mechanics of negotiating with major league franchises; and in most cases, that may be true. However, they do not know, better than you, what it is you value, want or need.

In many respects, hiring an agent is similar to a company hiring a purchasing manager that buys on behalf of his company, but is solely focused on his interests (political or financial). If he is not focused on the needs of the company as a whole, or of the specific stakeholders he serves, he is in effect an agent. Companies, as well as professional athletes need to make sure that they are protected from possible conflict of interest issues. These items increase trust and collaboration, and promote better long-term results: 

1. Manage:
   1. Mutual understanding of long-term goals and objective’s ranges.
   2. Limited authority to make commitments.
   3. Communication throughout the process.
   4. Alignment of compensation with your interests.
2. Insist on expanding the pie:
   1. Find creative ways to make the pie bigger for both parties.
3. Analyze all options:
   1. Understand the moving parts of the deal, and;
   2. The consequences of no-agreement for both sides.

Over the past 25 years, I have seen many changes in the procurement field. Here are a few…

1980’s
- Arms length business relationship (our-side vs your side)
- Initial software with purchasing systems that automate POs
- Use of learning-curve theory to drive down pricing year over year
- $1000 government toilet seats and $75 ashtrays because these things required “R&D”
- Vendor entertainment, gifts (bribes?), personal relationships off the books

1990’s
- Win-Win approach to negotiation
- Emergence of purchasing modules in ERP systems
- Title changes from Buyer and Purchasing Agent to Procurement Manager
- Use of consultants to help with spend analysis
- Increased acknowledgement of Procurement as a part of the broader Supply Chain

2000’s
- Adding value to negotiations through trades
- Non-production spend analysis and solutions
- Control over maverick buys through software
- China sourcing (low cost country sourcing and production
- Coordination across the Supply Chain

TOP TEN READ:  B2B Street Fighting - three counterpunches to change the negotiation conversation "Some books contain value because they raise your awareness and for others the value is the hard content. In this case, both values are present ." --Amazon Top 50 Reviewer, Charles Ashbacker "I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a proactive and repeatable approach to successful business-to-business negotiation. This author uses a direct and straight to the point framework." --Blog Business World, Wayne Hurlbert "The discussion around the value proposition alone is worth 100 times the cost of the book ." --SellingPower Magazine, Gerhard Gschwandtner You can request an excerpt from the book here, or order your copy here. It's available in print and Kindle versions. RECORDED WEBINAR:  Selling To and Negotiating With Today's Tougher, Strategic Procurers / Buyers / Sourcers Four of the top negotiation experts gathered for an unscripted, unedited panel discussion on business negotiation where these topics were talked about: - Tactical versus strategic approaches for working with procurement - Selling value - Advice for troubled sales managers - Can you still get close to the customer? - What you need to know about the procurement manager and their internal customer - Negotiation strategies You can review this recording at your convenience, 24/7. FIVE MOST POPULAR BLOG POSTS: - Rethink using those negotiation tips and tactics - The #1 job of a sales professional today - What? Negotiating via e-mail? - Negotiate price increases upfront - Procurement shifts require shifts in negotiation

Before you can understand the process, you're going to have to start thinking differently about what negotiation really means.  The traditional view of negotiation is promising, cajoling, threatening or using any of a wide variety of tactics to get what you want from another party.  Negotiation, however, begins long before you sit down with someone to work out the terms of a deal.  It starts as soon as you select an account and start selling and / or managing the account relationship.  This is all negotiation, and redefining it as a process is what leads to world-class dealmaking.

American corporations spend $7.2 billion* every year on sales processes, account management sills, negotiation and opportunity management training.  That's an average of $347,000 per company, according to SellingPower.  But there is 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.

In our work with major buying organizations we find that very few purchasing decisions are made based on price alone.  Virtually every purchasing organization we have experience with evaluates suppliers with a matrix and price is simply one of the many criteria.  In most instances, the lowest priced supplier does not get the business.  Buyers are charged with supplying their organizations with the lowest total cost of ownership solution.