The first thing required for ... ... - be it in sales or ... else - is to find a common ... Success is achieved when two ... agree they have the same goal and are The first thing required for successful communication - be it in sales or something else - is to find a common interest. Success is achieved when two individuals agree they have the same goal and are discussing which of them is going to do what in order for them to reach their common goal faster, easier and with greater certainty. If the person you are talking with feels, even slightly, that he has been cheated or that you took advantage of him - by him being your means to reaching your goals - he folds from the game. Often, this other person could be a customer who feels your greatest desire is selling your product - without considering whether that product will meet his needs or desires. If you don't first harmonize, by finding a common interest, you end up creating a situation wherein each party is engulfed in defending their interests: one is proving why something is good and beneficial to the other and the other is defending himself by proving why that same thing is of no use to him and doesn't suit his needs. By doing this, you presume:1) You will convince the other party to accept your truth, or worse ...2) You can make the other party feel so "good" about the purchase that they will be back to buy more from you!This is often impossible. Sure, your prospects may actually buy, sometimes - but this doesn't come even close to securing a long-term relationship with them and ensure they will repeatedly purchase from you. The solution is somewhere else, and a very simple one at that: once you discover the common goals you and your prospect share (such as ensuring greater success for your prospect's company), you help him realize those goals. Mr. Ron is a sports shoe importer. He was always having problems negotiating with his suppliers. Then he changed something. Before he sat down at the table again to negotiate with his supplier, he said: "Look, we all have the same goal - getting your top-notch sport shoes to the public. Let's not waste time arguing and fighting over petty issues. Why don't we imagine there's a customer standing here in front of us right now. Let's all put our suggestions on the table and discuss how each one of us can help make this customer's decision easier and faster and what we can do to make him want to return more often and buy more of your shoes from me." Just saying these few sentences placed him and his supplier on equal and common ground to negotiate. A few days later, he sent me a note saying this was the best and fastest deal he ever made. And it was so simple ...>> How an Importer Cultivates Loyalty From His Customers Even When »The Competion Offers Higher Percentages« How do you »negotiate« in the real world? How can you convince your prospects to buy something from you and keep buying it over and over again? The easiest and most successful aproach is helping the store (in any way possible) sell your goods as fast and easy as possible so that they will see buying from you as an opportunity and not like purchasing from you is a liability. That said, the best starting place for negotiating is: develop an efficient marketing system for your product (purchasing, logistics, marketing, sales, after-sales activities, follow up, etc.), test it in the real world and then offer it to the store along with the product. This way you're not just selling your product as if you were saying: »Here it is, now make the best of it ... and by the way, we're not through yet; whether you buy something from me today or not, I'll be back soon to sell you this product (if you decide against purchasing it today) or a new product...«Offer the tool and the solution. The fabric and the scissors. When would you rather buy an unknown product from someone to sell? Would you choose the untested product or the one that that has been market tested, comes with a case study that precisely shows the marketing system they used and how to handle its marketing, sales, product education, market approach and similar? And what if they could even forecast the actual and approximate sales success for this product, on the basis of previous experience, based on your sales team working according to the suggested system (in other words: if you already knew approximately how much risk the product presents for your company)? Or, what if they even showed you how all these procesess work in practice? Or even further, what if they offered you sales team training along with the product?If you offered all this, you really wouldn't need to have any polished »negotiating skills« to generate the client's interest you are already offering them exactly what they want and need ... and more. If you did all this consistently and as part of your work ethic, you would find yourself in the desirable situation of you being able to choose whom to trust to sell your product. The sales people would be seeking you out instead of the other way around! This is negotiating for the »new era« that is not only marked by greater sales success, but also by deeper and more friendly human relationships, an excellent flow of information, the ability to act without fear or bad feelings, and above all, alot of satisfaction, pleasure, respect and joy. This is what happens when you solve problems where they begin: at their cause! 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