How can you create win-win solutions through collaborative negotiation?

In my vast sales and negotiation experience, collaborative negotiation is the main foundation of long term business, steady growth, and establishing strategic partnerships. Collaborative negotiation is not about arriving at a customer saying “I have a value proposition for you”. Instead it’s all about listening, inquiring and understanding the customer real issues (not what is at the surface). Unveiling dysfunctions, potential under-performing areas and together find solutions to reduce costs and resources, streamline procedures and optimize the potential of your products or solutions on the long run. Ultimately you bring something as close as possible to a “problem free” solution. That, will land you a role of strategic partner.

Account Managers need to have hunting and farming skills. Knowing that farming will be the baseline to keep a business running, it’s crucial to establish long term relationships with customers. To get such customers, one must inspire trust. Only with mutual trust can you engage on collaborative negotiations that will last. Trust requires some key traits: Empathy, reliability, competency, integrity, vulnerability and a certain dose of persuasion. Some of those traits innate to some people. Some are skills one can build up. Come across as someone who has those traits, and you’ll be able to build up a trustworthy relationship and engage on collaborative negotiations.

In any negotiation, "preparation" comprises different areas (customer specifics, purchaser personality, alternatives, competition, trends, objectives, etc). But one key component is to embed that all negotiations should be collaborative. That's the only way to make sure you'll have customers in the long run. If a customer accepts a deal but is not happy, the following negotiation period, there's a high risk that you'll lose them. Buying and selling have more emotions involved than one may think. So, focus on bridging gaps and finding common ground within your negotiation range. When you're in a superior power position, you may rip off your customers this time. But whenever they will have the chance, they will walk away.

There’s this famous acronym, KLT factor. People typically buy from people they Know, Like, and Trust. That’s how you set a collaborative negotiation. When each part openly expresses needs, objectives, concerns, and limitations. No hidden agendas, no empty promises, and particularly avoid assumptions. In the doubt, ask. Reconfirm what you have heard. Explain with clarity how your product/service solution is a problem-free solution and why it’s more expensive than competition. Never talk badly about competition. Remember, Trust is built upon five components: Empathy, reliability, competency, integrity, and vulnerability. Any collaborative negotiation needs to bring that along (from both sides).

Experienced Account managers know that buyers will use some power play during negotiations. It’s their role. It doesn’t mean they are not in a collaborative spirit and willing to make it happen. It means they will use all the means they have to get the best deal. Breathe, and, if needed, take a break during negotiations to gain perspective. And never take it emotionally or personally. So, address concerns but centered on facts and specifics. Don’t let yourself fall into a spiral of scenarios. Tackle one by one every concern or objection factually. Listen, observe, read. Dissect what they mean, not what they say. Stay focused on the agenda and the different negotiation steps, not on potential catastrophe scenarios.

A contract or a deal is just a critical starting step. You need to formalize it and ensure all conditions, roles, and responsibilities are well-known by both parties. But as necessary, you need to follow up on its execution. The execution and respect of the terms from both sides. Along the way, you must defend your position consistently, provide market info, trends, and innovations, and keep a close relationship with the customer. Competition is knocking on the door, waiting for the next opportunity. Lay back on your success of a contract, and you’ll lose the next one. An account must be nurtured and “protected,” not closing a deal and forgetting about the customer until the next round.