Knowledge is Power: The Importance of Negotiation Research with Mike Inman, Ep #337
As a former procurement professional, Mike Inman can\xa0guarantee\xa0that procurement comes to the table with a plan. As a salesperson, if you don\u2019t have a plan of your own\u2014you\u2019ll end up following theirs. You should know the tactics you want to use, who is going to be in the meeting, what your BATNA is, and you must set an agenda. Knowledge is power, and you have to leverage it. He shares his take on \u201copposition\u201d research in this episode of Sales Reinvented!\xa0
Outline of This Episode- [0:59] Why planning and preparation is an important step in negotiation
- [2:06] The key steps a salesperson should take to prepare for negotiation
- [4:09] The attributes or characteristics that make a great sales negotiator
- [5:04] Don\u2019t be afraid to leverage LinkedIn to do your research
- [8:33] Mike\u2019s top three negotiation planning dos and don\u2019ts
- [10:50] The importance of opposition research in a negotiation
What\u2019s happening on your side of the table? For every deal point, you must have an open position target and bottom line. After you know what you can and can\u2019t do, spend twice as much time on opposition research.\xa0
This can even help you determine if they\u2019ve already decided in your favor\u2014or not in your favor. If you find out that you\u2019re not their preferred solution for a product or service, you can stop wasting time and cut your losses.\xa0
Lastly, get approval in advance. There\u2019s nothing more frustrating than a salesperson that has to run things by their boss. Then you\u2019re just an order taker. You\u2019ll get abused. Make sure that you\u2019re authorized to make concessions or close a deal.
Don\u2019t be afraid to leverage LinkedIn to do your researchMike emphasized that LinkedIn is a person's billboard. They choose to publish where they\u2019re from, what they\u2019ve studied, and what\u2019s important to them.\xa0
Mike just advised on a massive negotiation. He looked at the Director of Supply Chain\u2019s background on LinkedIn and it was clear that he was career-focused. He moved up the ladder with every job he took. Mike knew that this gentleman\xa0needed\xa0a win to continue to advance his career.
So Mke helped them build a negotiation plan to make him look good in front of his superiors while protecting value on their side.\xa0
Conversely, if someone isn\u2019t sharing information on LinkedIn, why are they hiding it? You can build a psychological profile from this angle as well. If they\u2019re not freely sharing information, they\u2019re a closed person. You\u2019ll likely have to ask more questions in the negotiation.\xa0
Mike\u2019s top negotiation planning dos and don\u2019tsMike shares some to-the-point negotiation dos and don\u2019ts that are spot-on:\xa0
- Schedule time to plan your negotiation. Get it on your calendar and on the calendar for whomever you need approval from.
- Set an agenda for planning and don\u2019t wing it.\xa0
- Negotiate the agenda with the other side.
- Don\u2019t wing it or you\u2019ll lose.
- Make assumptions. Make assumptions and test them with good questions.
- Don\u2019t forget your timeline. People make the biggest concessions if they\u2019re nearing a deadline. Don\u2019t schedule a negotiation near your deadlines or at the end of the quarter.
When Mike moved to Denver, he wanted to rent for a couple of years to make sure he liked the area. They decided they wanted to move over the Summer, so they started looking in January. By February, they\u2019d been outbid on three homes.\xa0
So he set up alerts to be notified immediately when there was a new listing. One Saturday morning, a house came on the market that looked perfect. They showed up at the open house and it\xa0was\xa0perfect.\xa0
After doing some legwork, they determined that the house was overpriced. They put in an offer $4,000 below ask with the stipulation that the sellers must accept or deny the offer by Monday at close of business. Monday at noon, they got an email that they won the house.\xa0
But there was a huge mistake. The seller accidentally sold the home to two buyers. The agent told Mike that they were \u201caging\u201d and \u201cdidn\u2019t understand technology\u201d and made a mistake. So Mike did some more research. Turns out, the seller worked for Cisco as a Government Contracting Expert.\xa0
The agent lied to Mike. So Mike pushed back. The agent responded with their lawyer\u2019s contact information. So what happened next? Mike unwraps a fascinating story that was only possible because he did opposition research. Listen to the episode to hear the ending!\xa0
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