"without realizing it, many companies have systematically taught their customers the art of blackmail."* When we approach business negotiations by tactically reacting to customers' requests, by merely giving in because they ask us to do so, seemingly disparate transactions have the effect of "rolling upward" and defining our negotiation strategy.  We teach the maketplace, our customers and our competitors, who we are based on the deals we do.  By rolling over in negotiations, we run into several problems:

The past 30 years have been an exciting time in the field of business negotiation.  We moved past the era of "win-lose" negotiations training and beyond the simplicity of "win-win" messages.  Leading thinkers in negotiation now realize that it is critical to think simultaneously about creating value and claining your share.

Why do you need a negotiation strategy?  This question relates to the motivation for developing a strategy in the first place, that is, the reason for wanting to make a change.  Often the term "strategy" spawns nebulous phrases or written statements that get tucked away in a boardroom somewhere, never to be heard from again.  Your goal is just the opposite:  keep it simple, actionable and clear that the cure is not worse than the disease. 

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.