Know When to Stop Negotiating

A good sales person knows when to stop negotiating.

Too many new sales people, or egotists, or people who watch too much reality TV think that sales is all about the hard sell, beating your client into submission and making the maximum possible profit at all times.

Of course, we all want to make a sale and we all want to take home some decent commission for our hard work, but if you make ‘closing the deal’ the centre of your world, you may find that you are overlooking a number of other important issues in the sales process.

But we all know that negotiating is a big part of the success of a super sales person – selling doesn’t just happen by itself, so you need to learn how to make a sale and close a deal.

So the real issue is knowing when to stop negotiating, as it is a necessary part of making a sale. You can’t focus on the negotiating too much or too little.

How Low Can You Go?

Before you start getting into a negotiation with a client, make sure you know what margins you have to play with. Perhaps you can afford to take off 20 per cent off the asking price, or that you cannot go any lower than 5 per cent, but can add in an additional product for free.

Speak to you line manager or boss before you start negotiating. There is nothing more likely to make your client see you as the most junior person if you have to break off negotiating to call a superior. Get your facts straight first.

Be Fair With Your Client

If you have built a good relationship with your client you do not want to loose it for the sake of a few pounds. This is often where the sales persons ego gets caught up in the deal – don’t let that happen to you.

You need to be fair with the client rather than holding them over a barrel. You may get the sale this time but they will never want to use you again and will quite possibly damage your reputation but telling other clients about your sales tactics.

Can You Afford To Lose The Sale?

Knowing when to stop negotiating is an awful lot easier if you can afford to loose the sale. It is all well and good trying to walk away from a deal if you know the client will make you a decent offer, but if they don’t, are you left in a pickle?

The best suggestion would be to never try and make a deal that you cannot afford to loose, but we all know that is not really possible. When you have a target to reach and a commission to earn, it is very hard to walk away, but if you feel the deal on the table has got so low that you will practically make a loss, you are better to quit while you’re ahead. If you go that low now, this client will expect this price again.