The Negotiator - Part 2

From the book: Turn Your Customers into Your Sales Force by Ross Reck

Whenever Ross Reck used to say “the ability to negotiate is critical to success as a salesperson”, he was met with raised eyebrows. And the reason for this is that negotiation is probably the most misunderstood concept in the World. He elaborates his point of view with some illustrations like reaching a labour agreement between the trade union and the management involves negotiation, also getting their children to make their bed or clean their room involves negotiation. That is, nearly all human interactions involve some element of negotiation. Their success in any of these situations is directly related to their ability to negotiate with different people.

Ross Reck further explains that the root word of negotiation is the Latin word otio. Otio means that a human being is at a state of leisure. When you are on a vacation or otherwise relaxed and enjoying yourself, you are at otio. The opposite of otio in Latin is neg otio. That is “not leisure”, or to “conduct business”. It is interesting to note that “to conduct business” is the precise definition of negotiation that you will find in any dictionary. This analysis points out two very important aspects of negotiation.

First, negotiation does not mean a process whereby you try to manipulate, con, or intimidate someone into saying yes when they really want to say no. Second, negotiation is a people process. Companies do not negotiate with companies. For example, a company like IBM does not negotiate a sales transaction with a company like Exxon. For such a transaction to occur, someone or a group of people representing IBM would negotiate with someone or group of people representing Exxon.

As one very successful businessman said when he was addressing a roomful of branch managers from Bank of America, “You people have to remember that people don’t bank with banks, they bank with people.” He went on to say, “To the average consumer, banks all look the same. What makes one bank stand out from the others is the quality of the personal treatment you get from the people with whom you come into contact.”

Based on all these factors, Ross Reck has defined negotiation as a basic process of getting what you want from other people. As such, negotiation is the fundamental activity involved in the sales process. Thus, in order to achieve a high level of success as a salesperson, you must become an effective negotiator.

To be continued…