Big or small, almost all B2B companies have to sell to large, powerful companies because they believe that the "big win" keeps the plant running or resources at capacity. Those negotiations are often tough and focus on price. “Tough” isn't quite the right word – how about brutal? Those big companies, or gorillas, control a lot of revenue, and like it or not, we have to sell to them. As a result of those brutal negotiations, the oftentimes smaller seller will lose money or barely break even.
Topics: Negotiating with Backbone
Too often, sales teams rely too heavily on discounts or service giveaways to close deals. This leads to a host of issues including leaving money on the table, teaching customers to negotiate hard for discounts and freebies, and eroding the customer's perception of your value.
Topics: Negotiating with Backbone
When it comes to negotiation, very few sellers spend enough time planning. I encourage you to carve out time to get centered and think about some of the upcoming negotiations you have. There’s a lot to consider, but let's start by thinking differently about your customers and the ways you engage with them.
Topics: Negotiating with Backbone
As a strategic account manager, you take the long view in working with your customers to ensure that each of them gets the right solution. You invest time in evaluating your customer's business and sourcing the best team internally to configure a valuable solution. It takes teamwork, planning, and execution.
Are your sales teams spending enough time qualifying their opportunities and defining the right solutions for their customers? Here's how to know if they are on the right track.
Topics: Negotiating with Backbone
| 2020 was an unexpected year for all of us. It was filled with unprecedented changes to all of our lives, a pivot (for most of us) to doing business virtually, and for us at Holden Advisors, a lot of new and interesting content relating to virtual negotiations and price changes in a pandemic. As we reflect on the past year, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued interest in our publications and spotlight the 5 articles you loved the most in 2020. |
Topics: Negotiating with Backbone, Pricing with Confidence, Selling with Backbone, Commercial Transformation
During our recent Virtual Backbone workshops, our participants have been sharing interesting insights about the psychological aspect of negotiating. We wanted to share some with you:
Topics: Negotiating with Backbone
Recently, we launched our Virtual Backbone initiative to help improve sales teams' negotiating performance, all from the comfort and safety of their home office. The results are great, but we wanted to share a few additional insights based on participant feedback.
Topics: Negotiating with Backbone
This is a scary time for suppliers and their sales teams. Customers concerned with the impact of COVID-19 are canceling or postponing projects and curtailing spending. As a result, suppliers are losing revenue and seriously considering pay cuts and/or layoffs to help them through this difficult time.
Topics: Negotiating with Backbone, winning proposal, value selling, procurement
2019 was an exciting year for Holden Advisors, filled with thought-provoking and timely content reflecting key takeaways from special events and outlining optimal strategies to address the most pressing commercial challenges. As we reflect on the past year, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued interest in our publications and spotlight the 5 articles you loved the most in 2019.
Topics: Negotiating with Backbone, Selling with Backbone, Commercial Transformation