How successful a deal is typically all depends on yourself as a sales person and your skills in negotiation. If a negotiation goes well you could be looking at a lucrative deal that you’re really happy with but, a bad negotiation could lead you to a deal that doesn’t really provide you or your company with any benefits. As the success of the deal relies on your negotiation abilities here are 5 skills that every successful sales person needs to have.

Speak Second

After you’ve presented a prospect with the terms of your deal or a contract they’re more than likely going to want to discuss everything with you. The prospect asked for the discussion and initiated this negotiation so you should let them speak first, lead the conversation and listen to what they have to say. As a sales minded person you may be tempted to offer a discount or adjustment to tempt the prospect more in order the ensure that you close the deal before the client has even voiced their concerns or opinions about the deal, but if you haven’t listened you don’t even know what they’re going to say or what they’re going to ask. Richard Branson has said ‘listen more than you speak… nobody learned anything by hearing themselves speak’.

Don’t Offer a Range

If the prospect thinks your price is too high and won’t agree to the deal or purchase without a discount then don’t offer them a choice of discounts. If say that you could probably offer a discount of between 10% and 15% off why would anyone choose the 10% discount when the 15% discount is on the table, the client is negotiating to save their own money not get you a better deal.

Understand Your Client

You need to know who you’re going into business with, what they want, how much they want it and the lengths that they will go to to get it. Knowing your client and building a good rapport with them is essential, but make sure you keep your relationship with them friendly but professional, you want them to still be able to take you and your business seriously. Showing them that you are able and willing to tailor the deal to suit them and their needs demonstrates that you are what they need.

Be Assertive

There is a fine line between being assertive and being aggressive and it should never be overstepped when dealing with any clients. Being correctly assertive can instil a level of confidence in your client that you need them to have to feel reassured about yourself and your brand, if a customer doesn’t feel comfortable or confident about a business or product they may be even more reluctant to buy or agree on the spot. Equally, if you convey any uncertainty in your body language or voice this can rub off onto the customer and similarly a customer’s uncertainty can rub off on you, remaining confident and sure is key.

Always Remember you can Walk Away

The confidence and ability to walk away from a deal if necessary is a difficult thing to possess, for sales-centric people walking away from a deal sounds preposterous, surely you want to make as many deals as possible to generate more business and gains more clients for your company. Not always. If a prospect is incredibly demanding, what they want becomes unreasonable and in the end if the deal becomes unprofitable it isn’t worth the work and hassle. Also, it is more than likely a customer who has only agreed to sign a contract on the basis of a drastically reduced price or a wealth of added extras will be a problem and cause further trouble down the road. If there is no value in continuing the deal and it might cause more problems and actually result in the loss of money, get out and spend that time working on another, more profitable deal.