Categories: Sales Negotiation
It’s true. When it comes to sales negotiations, you can make procurement your ally rather than your chief enemy.
When you approach negotiation as a process that’s centered on value and aligned with your organization’s strategy, procurement will see the value in your solution.
First, you have to understand their role in the buying process. Remember that they have internal customers they need to please, but also realize that they can be helped by your expertise
Think about it this way -- in order to close a great deal with your customer, you have to (1) understand what the required capabilities are for that customer and (2) their desired positive business outcomes. The key to achieving these two points is being able to understand what is driving the procurement manager’s negotiation strategy.
Your traditional discovery questions are only going to get you so far. That’s because procurement managers often lack the subject matter expertise necessary to understand true value in the deal. Remember, procurement managers are not experts in cloud automation, product development software, or whatever you’re selling. They know how to help an organization make purchases. They may lack the subject matter expertise they need to effectively pull-off a deal that satisfies all their internal customers.
They have to rely on others, like you, to help them see the value in the solutions they are considering. If you’ve determined the required capabilities for the solution the organization is trying to achieve, leverage that information with the professional buyer. Once you determine they need subject matter expertise, educate them on these requirements, then explain your differentiators. Done well, this approach can actually make you a trusted resource to the professional buyer for this decision and future purchases. You can help provide them with the subject matter expertise they need to seal a deal that will make them look like the hero in their own organization.
