A lot of salespeople go into meetings with potential buyers and spend their time trying to educate them about their products.
But that’s awareness stage stuff. It’s really the job of marketing, and not what your counterpart who’s already agreed to sit down at the table needs to hear.
At Black Swan, we take issue with the whole idea of the sales process in general. Why map out an eight-month plan when very well might be able to close today and get money tomorrow?
So first things first: Never go into a sales negotiation thinking you need to complete a five- or six-stage process. Your top priority needs to be making sure the other side knows that you understand where they’re coming from and can see things from their perspective. Once they feel they’re understood, they’re going to cut a check.
In the following infographic, we illustrate the right way to negotiate through the sales process by walking your through 5 easy to follow steps.