Few know about the power of NLP sales negotiation techniques. To many, they always see a successful negotiator as someone who is very aggressive or a quick thinker who is able to think fast on his feet (or butt).
However, little do they know that being an accomplished negotiator is much more than that! Especially in business or sales negotiation, it really doesn’t matter if you have a loud voice or not. What matters more is how prepared you are for the business negotiations.
As what Alan Lakein mentioned, “Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.”
While it may be true that a persuasive negotiator is someone who is quick-witted, however, what’s truer is they are always much better prepared than the others. They understand the fact that real negotiation doesn’t happen a few weeks, days or hours later, but it is already happening right now – in their heads!
Thus, in order to be a powerful negotiator in the world of business, it is essential that you master the art of negotiation or the NLP sales negotiation techniques for that is how you can effectively and efficiently close more deals and gain more respect from the other parties.
What Makes NLP Sales Negotiation Techniques Different?
So what is it exactly that makes NLP sales negotiation techniques or NLP negotiation model stands apart from the other mainstream techniques?
Well, the one main differentiator for the NLP negotiation model is that it emphasises greatly in the study of the intention behind others’ behaviours.
Since Neuro-Linguistic Programming or NLP recognizes the fact that there’s a always a positive intention in every behaviour, the use of NLP sales negotiation techniques in business negotiation often results in a highly desirable outcome as it tends to focus on how to create a win-win situation for both negotiating parties.
8 Tips to a More Successful NLP Sales Negotiation
And here are some actionable NLP negotiation tactics which many of our NLP Practitioners have enjoyed great success from:
1. Avoid responding to a proposal with a counterproposal. Instead, always attempt to restate, clarify and probe to find out the perceptual position of your opponents.
2. Invent options to create a win-win situation. Unless the conflicting party is satisfied with the outcome, winning a negotiation may just lead to temporary joy but more upset in the future, when your opponent tries to seek revenge or get even.
3. Avoid attack/defence exchanges. Fighting fire with fire oftentimes never work in a business or sales negotiation. Thus, always be on the lookout for the intention behind every proposals and attack on them.
4. Separate intent from behaviour. In NLP there is a presupposition that there’s always a positive intention in every behaviour. In the usual case of a conflict faced between the sales department and the finance department, you are always able to find a higher intention (make the business more prosperous) behind their behaviour. Since the intentions of both parties are the same, there could certainly be a better way of achieving what you and the other party want.
5. Always give suggestions and ask questions. Be polite and ask questions such as “May I offer a suggestion?” or “I’d like to ask a question.” This will often help in lowering your opponent’s defensive barrier so that you can effectively plant suggestions into their mind and make them more acceptable to your proposal.
6. State your reasons before making a proposal. This NLP sales negotiation strategy tends to work very well because what you have done is you have “disarmed” your opponent before “launching an attack” on them. The reason why many negotiations often fail is because the conflicting parties are just overly suspicious of each other and are constantly trying to defend their own stand whenever the other party states their proposal. By stating your reasons first, you are effectively removing this invisible barrier unconsciously and make it easier for you to bring up your party’s proposal subsequently.
7. Anticipate objections. Objections are always present. Therefore, the better way to handle sales objections is not to avoid them but anticipate and handle them tactfully when you receive them. This anticipation not only helps you to remain calm when handling sales objections but also enables you to handle it more effectively.
8. Keep the internal negotiation internal! Avoid negotiating with your team in front of the other negotiating party. If an option is raised and you need more time or information, ask for a break or schedule another session is always a better choice.
Surely, learning effective NLP sales negotiation techniques isn’t necessary an overnight effort. However, if you were to put in the required effort into learning the ropes and acting on the feedbacks, you too can become an accomplished and successful NLP sales negotiator in no time!