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StreetSmart: How to Combat "I can get the same thing cheaper"
21 Plays2 days ago
In this episode, Brian Dietmeyer talks with Carrie Welles about the predictable nature of negotiation. They explore how negotiation is not as unpredictable as many believe, discussing a groundbreaking study that categorizes the majority of negotiation tactics into two main patterns. This conversation is crucial for anyone looking to understand the science behind negotiation tactics and how to prepare for them effectively.
Timestamps:
00:12 Introduction to the episode's topic on the predictable nature of negotiation.
00:39 Brian discusses common misconceptions in negotiation strategies.
01:33 Insights into a comprehensive study on negotiation patterns across various countries.
03:17 Simplifying negotiation preparation by focusing on common patterns rather than memorizing numerous tactics.
04:01 Explanation of the most common global negotiation tactic and how to anticipate it.
04:47 Strategies for sales professionals to leverage the predictability of negotiations.
07:02 Plans for upcoming episodes to delve deeper into specific negotiation strategies.
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Transcript
Introduction and Predictability in Negotiation
00:00:02
Brian
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Street Smart, The Negotiation Podcast. I'm Brian Dietmeyer CEO of Think Inc., home of business negotiation Redefined.
00:00:12
Carrie Welles
Yes, and welcome back. I'm Carrie Wells, co-founder and vice president with Think! Inc. So it's nice to have you all back. So Brian, today we're talking about the predictable nature of negotiation, which is a really important subject because that's so much of what our research is founded on.
00:00:27
Brian
Yeah.
00:00:29
Carrie Welles
OK, so elaborate on that. Elaborate on our perspective that it's highly repeatable and predictable. What do you have to say?
Misconceptions and Challenges in Negotiation Tactics
00:00:39
Brian
Oh, a lot. So ah ah the last podcast we we talked about, Uh, people have misdiagnosed the negotiation problem as, as you never know what someone's going to do. So you prescribe a solution that covers and every potential situation that might come up. And I referenced a book entitled the 53 truths of negotiating on 101 negotiating tips, all which have interesting stuff in them. I get it. Like you read it or you go to the class and you're like, Oh, this is interesting. But how do you scale that? And how do you do that in the moment of truth when you're getting your clock cleaned by some mean buyer somewhere on a zoom call?
00:01:11
Brian
So in fact, you and I carry, I forwarded you something a couple of days ago where somebody sent me, sorry, no disrespect to person who sent this to me, but you sent it to the wrong guy. Cause it basically said all the, all the other negotiation approaches are outdated and I have 40 plays for you, 20, 20 offensive and 20 defensive plays for negotiation. And it just exploded my brain because I'm just like.
00:01:33
Brian
it's It's more of that. So anyway, enough of enough of whining about the problem.
Insights from Global Study on Buyer Tactics
00:01:38
Brian
So as you know, several years ago, we spent two years ah ah collecting all kinds of negotiation data. Part of that study we didn't do anything with. And and this study was two years, 19 countries, all different kind of industry verticals. And we're really studying the moment of truth, right? When when someone's yelling at Carrie and beating her up you know at across the desk or across ah ah a camera.
00:02:02
Brian
and And so we had all these really mean things that buyers said to sellers all over the world. And my wife's a data scientist. I asked her to look into this massive database and say, is there any, just on a whim, is is there any pattern there? And she came back and said to me, well, about 47% sits over here and about 50% sits over here. And I ain't no data scientist, but I said, wait a minute, 97% of the mean stuff that these buyers said to sellers all over the world falls into two categories.
00:02:32
Brian
and And she said yes and I said that can't be so I went back and recoded all the stuff I sent it off I there's no way and I don't know if anybody listening could imagine that but sent it off to our our then partner max at Harvard and said is this legit and he said yeah and and you and I every new client we sign up we we survey their sales team and say what do you hear in the moment of truth it cleans your clock and it all follows the same pattern.
Patterns in Negotiation: Leveraging Alternatives
00:02:55
Carrie Welles
Right, right, right, right. so So just a quick note that I remember when Max, Dr. Bazerman, did come back and say, hey, not only is this legit, but it's really powerful.
00:03:06
Carrie Welles
And I thought, oh my god, thank thankfully, because it just was a huge weight lifted off our shoulders that we didn't have to play the memorization game, which is so silly anyway.
00:03:06
Brian
yeah
00:03:12
Brian
ye
00:03:16
Carrie Welles
You don't need to memorize 143 trues and the 53 trues and you know the 40 tactics that we just talked about. It's completely overwhelming. OK, so then talk to our listeners about what did we learn mainly.
00:03:30
Brian
Yeah. So yeah, we we learned and and you're right. It fundamentally, I had already been a no negotiation consultant for 12, 13, 14 years up until that point. It completely, those of you who are listening, it completely zero based everything I thought about negotiation and and how we help negotiators prepare. So we found 97%, the two patterns, know in advance what the negotiations and conversation is going to be against all of our renewals, all of our new deals over the next year. I already tell you, we don't know the words, but we know here's what's going to happen.
00:04:00
Brian
The buyer is going to refer to his or her alternative, and then they're going to use that alternative to put pressure on you to give stuff away, right? And so the most common tactic globally, and this is fact-based, follows those patterns. I can get the same thing from someone else cheaper, and everybody listening should say, oh my God, I've heard some version of that, right? I can get the same thing from your competitor cheaper, reference the alternative, put pressure on you to give something away.
00:04:27
Carrie Welles
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it seems so easy, and yet the depth of the analysis gets really hard, which I know we are going
Preparation for Negotiation: Understanding Alternatives
00:04:34
Carrie Welles
to talk about. OK, so then let's help out. our sales professionals listening and how they leverage the predictability of the negotiations to anticipate a lot of these buyer tactics.
00:04:46
Brian
Yep, and i'm I'm going to hit it at a high level. now, I just want us to know right that you can anticipate this. Don't be surprised at the end of the quarter anymore. you could So step one, we have to be prepared with objective analysis about what is the most likely alternative for the client on this deal. right It could be go to your competitor, it could be do nothing, it could be build it myself, and we have to do objective analysis. We have to know that better than they do. And then step two is getting ready for the other side of that tactic, sort of pattern, which is concession pressure, anticipate where the concession is going to come from and have our plans for if this, then that. and you know what, some of you might be saying, Oh, sure. This is too simple. We already know that you you don't carry, you know, we we've coached on billions of dollars of deals all over the world. And at the end of the quarter, we always hear things like, Hey,
00:05:37
Brian
Our competitor just undercut us by 20%. What are we going to do? That's, that's the pattern, right? And, and the buyer just came to us and said, Hey, your competitor just did this. So, uh, address that.
Negotiation Preparation: PR Training Analogy
00:05:47
Brian
So, know, the question is that may or may not be true, whether the buyer did or that competitor did undercut you by 20%. but that's not even relevant and in the next episode. We're going to talk about, how, how to prepare for 97%. And there's only, as we talk about negotiation blueprinting, which is what we call it.
00:06:06
Brian
97% of what's going to happen falls into two categories. We can address that with three questions and answering three questions. And on the next episode, we're going to talk about question one, but, but what I will, I'll finish this one with, uh, years ago, uh, when I worked for Marriott, we went through PR training and, and it was cool because what you learned in this PR training was as an executive or a politician,
00:06:32
Brian
You're going to get hit with categories of stuff. And this is generally how you respond to categories. And it's brilliant.
00:06:37
Brian
I think that's the approach we think about. You're going to get a category, which is some alternative. You're going to get get category, which is concession pressure. And generally this is how you prepare for and anticipate and respond.
00:06:37
Carrie Welles
right
Conclusion and Future Episodes Preview
00:06:48
Brian
The words can all be different, but this is generally, and you're right. It takes huge pressure off us as sellers to just say, okay, I already know words are going to be different, but I'm prepared for whatever's going to come my way.
00:06:58
Carrie Welles
Right. Right. It's so true. it's he It's the anticipation and the and the preparing, which is so vital. Okay, so my understanding is that we're going to follow up with a couple episodes like that really get very specific on those three questions, and then give our listeners some solid examples of how does this work?
00:07:06
Brian
Yep. Yep.
00:07:20
Carrie Welles
How does this work in your world? And how are you able to replicate it? Is that fair?
00:07:24
Brian
Yes, ma'am.
00:07:25
Carrie Welles
Okay. All right, that's ah that's great. Okay, so until we meet again, so thank you all for listening.
00:07:32
Brian
See you all next time.
00:07:33
Carrie Welles
Yeah, we'll see you back.
00:07:34
Brian
Bye.