In Sales training programmes, sales negotiation skills are often overlooked. You could say that the reason most of us feel the need to negotiate with anyone else is so that we can find a way to get what we want. Being human, we all believe that our opinion is important and that everyone else should at least think about seeing things our way. If you had no wants or requirements, there would be little reason for you to negotiate with others.
If sales courses don't always teach persuasion skills, how then can you convince other people to favourably consider your suggestions?
Believe it or not, there is a science supported by more than 60 years of research that has informed our understanding of the use of influence to satisfy our needs and desires in sales negotiation. The world's leading authority on the science of influence, Dr Robert Cialdini, has discovered 6 principles of persuasive communication in his investigative efforts:
Reciprocation
Liking
Commitment & Consistency
Authority
Scarcity
Social Proof
Whilst persuasion will always be an art, it is incredibly helpful to harness the power of the 6 principles uncovered by scientific investigation to maximise your odds of convincing others to give you what you really want.
Let's start by looking at what is believed to be the most important principle from a negotiation viewpoint - reciprocation.
Reciprocation means that we return to others the same behaviour that they demonstrate towards us. If you have done me a favour, then I should do you a favour. If you invite me to your birthday party, then I should invite you to my birthday party. If you make a concession to me, then I should make a concession to you.
So what does this mean to you and how can you use it to get what you want?
Here's how:
Make sure that when you start a negotiation you ask for a little more than you would be satisfied to receive.
Let's say you are trying to sell a widget and you would like to get $ 100 for the widget.
If you want to apply the principle of reciprocation, then you should commence by asking for a little more - let's say by requesting $ 105.
If your counterparty does not agree to paying you $ 105 for the widget, then you are able to offer a concession by lowering your asking price to $ 100 in exchange for your counterparty also making a concession to you. A concession that your counterparty could make in this case could be to pay you immediately on the spot or to facilitate shipping etc.
The key is for you to offer the concession - don't wait for your counterparty to make a concession. Just make sure that you use the word 'if' when you offer your concession:
"If you are prepared to pay me in cash right now, then I could reduce the price from $ 105 to $ 100". This way you give an indication to your counterparty that you are prepared to be flexible and you will now significantly enhance the likeliness of them also being flexible and offering a concession in return.
Just be sure to use this principle 'in the moment' whilst you are negotiating. If you walked away from a negotiation to reconsider your proposal, your counterparty will be more likely to regard your revised offer as a new proposal, not as a concession.
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