The critical goal of the Consequences of No Agreement (CNA) analysis is getting a clear picture of the It that you are selling and that the customer is buying, as well as what the competitor is offering. Then on a deal-by-deal basis, find the two or three items your company has that the competitor doesn't, given the client's needs in this deal.

Most buyers would define negotiation as that time when you are sitting across the table working through the terms and conditions of a buy. If you are waiting until that time, it’s too late. Let’s say that this is a typical buying cycle: you understand the buying criteria, do some data collection, you implement your buying process, and then the negotiation takes place… or does it?

If we know where and what most of the traps are in business negotiation, and we know they are fear driven, why do we keep reacting in the same way?  There are two key tactics used by 97% of buyers - mention an alternative and leverage it to start the bargaining.  This then creates three key problems:  commoditiztion pressure, price pressure and selling "value" and then falling back to negotiating price.  Value is a word we hear a lot these days.  It's supposed to denote something worthwhile, significant, tangible and durable.

We all negotiate something everyday, from huge, complex business deals to perhaps where to go to dinner with a group of friends, or bedtime with our child. Some of us feel much more confident than others and yet, there may be something more for all of us to learn.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said ‘… We may have come in different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”  It may seem to be a stretch at first, but this thought applies to sales relationships too.  It is the idea that when people in a business relationship think of themselves as being on the same team, things start to get easier. Positive attitudes and the willingness to collaborate grow more readily.

As recently as 10 years ago, few of us made purchases via the internet.Over time, security issues and the ‘risk’ of making a purchase via the internet have been mitigated by sellers and financial institutions alike.  According to the US Census Report dated 15 May 2014, the percent of e-commerce sales in 1Q 2014 has grown to 7.2% of total retail sales, that is $71.2 billion, up from 2.3% of total retail sales for the same period in 2008.  The Cicso IBSG – Retail projected a 31% increase in global e-commerce growth between 2010-2015 and it seems this growth is tracking.

A salesperson can control who they call on and what they say during the call.  Best practice is that every salesperson spends as much time preparing for a call as deciding on ‘who’ to call.  However, according to most sales managers, very few of these calls are planned.  Salespeople have a general idea of what they would like to achieve during a call.  Most do not document this and many report after a call that they did not accomplish what they wanted during the call.  According to Sales Effectiveness Inc. research, 64% of all sales calls are ineffective.

We recently asked Brian Dietmeyer, President and CEO of Think! Inc. to talk to us about this exact question.  Listen to his thoughts and then tell us what you think!

Doing business in China is tougher than you think. Not only is the culture vastly different, but China's experience in manufacturing is still developing. It will be a few years before the majority of manufacturers are up to world standards. In the meantime, quality, contract laws, schedules and logistics must be closely monitored. As a result, the things Westerners must do to be successful are far different from dealing with American or European manufacturers. The best way to quickly come up to speed on these differences and how to handle them is to learn from the experience of others.

Surprise wins, surprise losses, surprise competitors, surprise tactics, surprise decision criteria, surprise trades.  They are all bad and a waste of time! This is not ‘bah humbug’ due to the time of year.  This is reality. When there are surprises like the ones mentioned above, it means that you have been caught with your guard down.  In sales, this is a dangerous position to be in.