In Sales training programmes, sales negotiation skills are often overlooked. One might say that the underlying reason most of us feel the need to negotiate with anyone else is so that we can find a way to get what we need. Being human, we all believe that our viewpoint is important and that everyone else should at least think about seeing things our way. If you had no desires or requirements, there would be little reason for you to enter in into negotiations with anyone.
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 backed up by more than 60 years of research that has evolved our knowledge of the use of influence to meet our needs and desires in sales negotiation. The world's leading authority on the science of influence, Dr Robert Cialdini, has identified 6 principles of persuasive communication in his research work:
Reciprocation
Liking
Commitment & Consistency
Authority
Scarcity
Social Proof
Whilst persuasion will always be an art, it is astonishingly helpful to deploy the power of the 6 principles identified by scientific research to increase your odds of persuading others to give you what you really want.
Let's start by looking at what I believe to be the most important principle from a negotiation point of view - reciprocation.
Reciprocation means that we return to others the form of behaviour that they demonstrate towards us. If you have done me a favour, then I should help you. 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 employ it to get what you need?
Here's how:
Ensure that when you start a negotiation you ask for a little more than you would like to receive.
Let's say you are selling a widget and you are planning to get $ 100 for the widget.
If you would like to apply the principle of reciprocation, then you should start 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 can make a concession by lowering your price to $ 100 in return 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 pay for 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 make your concession:
"If you are prepared to hand over the cash right now, then I will 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 increase 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 went 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.