So what happens once you’ve gotten past the lunch meeting and actually secured your first sales meeting? Well, if you’ve gotten the opportunity to present your product/service/company to me, try to line it up for the next time they’re at the production facility and get them to invite some of the business users who could be using your products or services. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT! Ultimately, procurement people have no decision making power whatsoever. The…
Perception Is Everything
Folks, let’s be honest with each other,….PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING! Especially in negotiation. And, raising your perceived value is critical to negotiating good deals. What do I mean by perceived value? How you value your service or product and how a buyer values your service or product may be two completely different things. You may think that your product is the best thing since sliced bread and that people would be fools not to buy it,…
Cold Calls Don’t Work
Cold calls don’t work. Not because they can’t work, but because most people have no idea how to actually cold call. The quality of cold calls that procurement people get on a daily basis are terrible. Sales people fumbling over their opening lines, talking about how golly gee wonderful their products are and ultimately plummeting into the abyss technical specifications and features that lose me in about thirty seconds. Sure, maybe once upon a time…
Actively Negotiate Everything
Seriously, I believe you should be actively negotiating everything. Or at least thinking about how you can actively getting more out of your daily interactions. “Why?” you may ask. Because you already do, so you may as well get good at it. Think about it. Your life as one negotiation after another. From the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep, you are negotiating. Roger Fischer (co-author of “Getting to Yes”)…