By: Paul Wilson
Negotiating is a skill that like warfare tactics must be honed. It is important to be mentally prepared to win. Do the ground work well before your reach the negotiating table and decide on the "path" you are going to take. Positivity will help as also a sense of confidence and self esteem. Set aside any doubts you may have and stride forward prepared to win at all costs.
The five cornerstones of successful negotiation skills are placing emphasis on common points; presenting clear arguments; being innovative and open to several options; focusing on the problem being dealt with; looking for a clear solution. The key is to be clear about your preferred outcome. However in the back of your mind you must be willing to compromise to some extent.
A good negotiator is an excellent communicator and understands how human beings think, feel, and function. You must be able to befriend the people seated on the other side of the negotiating table. You must know when to push hard, when to accept a compromise, and when to walk away. A negotiator is in many ways an artist he needs a great amount of creativity to steer the negotiations to a successful completion. A negotiator must keep in mind the 3Fs: fair, fast, and firm.
According to the gurus there are tactics to be used for negotiating:
1. Be focused on the problem or issue. Logical arguments are the key to smooth negotiations.
2. It is important to be firm yet polite when making a stand or presenting a point.
3. Clearly emphasize the advantages and disadvantages.
4. Be patient and let the process of negotiation take its course.
5. Put ego aside and concentrate on the matter at hand. It is finding an amiable solution that's important not self worth or position.
6. Never threaten or manipulate the opposite party-it is completely unethical and unfair.
7. Aim for solutions that are interest based and not what individual desires or aims are. It is best to consider any situation as a whole rather than from a personal view point.
8. Avoid psychological traps and have the magnanimity to admit when you are wrong. Be open minded.
9. Don't accept weak solutions and try and negotiate a plausible settlement. Temporary measures are not what you need. A permanent solution must be sought.
10. Value time, schedules, and deadlines. A good negotiator will not beat around the bush or adopt delay tactics or waste time talking about mundane matters. It is professional to immediately get down to the business at hand.
Most human beings are born negotiators. From the first breath a baby takes it makes all around him dance to his tunes. Most of us consciously or unconsciously do what we have to do to get our own way in life. And, if we look closely it is just mastering the art of negotiation.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Sorting vs. Selling
By: Ron LeBlanc
In this article I want to let you in on something that the top home based business people know. It took me a while to learn it and be comfortable with it. That concept is sorting vs. selling.
What do I mean by that? I mean that whatever home based business you are in, you must somehow contact people and communicate with them. If you are thinking that you have to find people and convince them to join your business, good luck!
If you have a business that has a higher entry level, say above $1000, you are not going to get someone who has no goals and a poverty mindset and get them invest over $1000 in a business. If you have one of the businesses with a low startup around $100 and you somehow manage to twist arms and convince someone to join in - then you should take your phone off the hook, because that type of person may think they have just won the lottery. Two weeks later when they have no results, they will be calling you to complain.
Trying to sell someone who is reluctant is like dragging someone along to a movie they don't want to see. Not an enjoyable experience. Who wants people like that around?
The secret is sorting. If you know what to look for, then you look only for those people. As I have mentioned in previous articles, you don't have to be a computer guru to do most home based businesses now. So what are the characteristics you are looking for? Desire and coachability. When you find that person, they deserve to hear about your opportunity.
How do you look for those things? What do they sound like? For desire, you want to hear something like "I am done with jobs I have to work for myself or else", "I want to make $250k and I will have a vacation home." When you hear "Yeah, money would be nice someday", or "I don't know I want my income to be unlimited", or "I'm just looking for a little something extra". Those are indicators that there is not a strong desire.
Coachability is a trait that will mean that someone will follow the business system that your opportunity has already setup. That's important because you don't want someone who will go outside your company's compliance guidelines. You also don't want someone calling you up twenty times a day because they won't listen to a training call.
You will hear a lack of coachability as you talk to them and they ask you to cut to the chase and tell them what it's about. People who interrupt you a lot are also not coachable.
Remember you are not serving people who have little desire and are not coachable by bringing them into your business. If they flop, nobody benefits. Your best response to them is NEXT!
In this article I want to let you in on something that the top home based business people know. It took me a while to learn it and be comfortable with it. That concept is sorting vs. selling.
What do I mean by that? I mean that whatever home based business you are in, you must somehow contact people and communicate with them. If you are thinking that you have to find people and convince them to join your business, good luck!
If you have a business that has a higher entry level, say above $1000, you are not going to get someone who has no goals and a poverty mindset and get them invest over $1000 in a business. If you have one of the businesses with a low startup around $100 and you somehow manage to twist arms and convince someone to join in - then you should take your phone off the hook, because that type of person may think they have just won the lottery. Two weeks later when they have no results, they will be calling you to complain.
Trying to sell someone who is reluctant is like dragging someone along to a movie they don't want to see. Not an enjoyable experience. Who wants people like that around?
The secret is sorting. If you know what to look for, then you look only for those people. As I have mentioned in previous articles, you don't have to be a computer guru to do most home based businesses now. So what are the characteristics you are looking for? Desire and coachability. When you find that person, they deserve to hear about your opportunity.
How do you look for those things? What do they sound like? For desire, you want to hear something like "I am done with jobs I have to work for myself or else", "I want to make $250k and I will have a vacation home." When you hear "Yeah, money would be nice someday", or "I don't know I want my income to be unlimited", or "I'm just looking for a little something extra". Those are indicators that there is not a strong desire.
Coachability is a trait that will mean that someone will follow the business system that your opportunity has already setup. That's important because you don't want someone who will go outside your company's compliance guidelines. You also don't want someone calling you up twenty times a day because they won't listen to a training call.
You will hear a lack of coachability as you talk to them and they ask you to cut to the chase and tell them what it's about. People who interrupt you a lot are also not coachable.
Remember you are not serving people who have little desire and are not coachable by bringing them into your business. If they flop, nobody benefits. Your best response to them is NEXT!
Two Ways of Handling Objections
by Paul Archer
Handling objections can give salespeople problems. They feel they should have the answer for every objection the client throws at them. Let me share with you an analogy of two boxers.
The first boxer, Joe Frazier was a big hulk of a man who went in fighting with all arms blazing and, through brute force, overcame his opponents. He wasn’t an elegant fighter and made hard work of his bouts. He could take punches but was usually strong enough to take them. Eventually he took a punch he couldn’t stop.
Our second boxer, Sugar Ray Leonard, was very much the opposite. Sugar won his fights quickly and stylishly and left the ring unmarked and ready for more. He moved quickly during his fights, ducking and anticipating punches, using less energy and boxing more effectively. He often beat opponents who were much stronger than himself.
The second boxer is the way we should handle objections. Don’t ask for them, anticipate them and avoid them by answering them before they actually arise.
So will you be a Joe Frazier and just talk your way to the end and then overcome all objections and beat your customer into submission.
Or will you be a Sugar Ray and dance with your customers, watching for customer reaction and buying signals. Testing the water along the way, trialling and closing when both of you are ready.
If, however, Sugar Ray Leonard was caught unawares by a punch he could deal with it. No matter how skilful you are, you’ll get objections from clients and will have to overcome them when they do arise.
Handling objections can give salespeople problems. They feel they should have the answer for every objection the client throws at them. Let me share with you an analogy of two boxers.
The first boxer, Joe Frazier was a big hulk of a man who went in fighting with all arms blazing and, through brute force, overcame his opponents. He wasn’t an elegant fighter and made hard work of his bouts. He could take punches but was usually strong enough to take them. Eventually he took a punch he couldn’t stop.
Our second boxer, Sugar Ray Leonard, was very much the opposite. Sugar won his fights quickly and stylishly and left the ring unmarked and ready for more. He moved quickly during his fights, ducking and anticipating punches, using less energy and boxing more effectively. He often beat opponents who were much stronger than himself.
The second boxer is the way we should handle objections. Don’t ask for them, anticipate them and avoid them by answering them before they actually arise.
So will you be a Joe Frazier and just talk your way to the end and then overcome all objections and beat your customer into submission.
Or will you be a Sugar Ray and dance with your customers, watching for customer reaction and buying signals. Testing the water along the way, trialling and closing when both of you are ready.
If, however, Sugar Ray Leonard was caught unawares by a punch he could deal with it. No matter how skilful you are, you’ll get objections from clients and will have to overcome them when they do arise.
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