Sales Tips From One of the the Top Sports Training and Consulting Companies- 
Altitude Premium Consulting

BennettTIPS
Weekly Sales Training Tips From Greg Bennett of Altitude Premium Consulting 
a Kroenke Sports Enterprises 
Partner Organization 

Negotiation Strategies That Win
-By Greg Bennett

Winning While Being Respected and Liked

Week 2:   Establish "Conditions"  for Analyzing a Fair Offer

Last week, in the first of our 4-week sessions focusing on Negotiation Strategies That Win, we covered going beneath the surface level to look at the underlying reasons behind a client's position.  We're trying discover the "WHY" behind the "what", if you will.   Once we've identified the underlying needs, wants, hopes and desires of the client, we usually find that there may be several ways to meet their needs (other than the one position they've proposed), and we're on our way to exploring new options and winning while being respected and liked.

This week, I'm going to introduce one of the more challenging aspects of negotiation and that is establishing the conditions for determining what is a "fair" offer.  In other words, what criteria are we going to look at as a platform to figure out what the fair price should be.

Why Establish a Fair Platform of Conditions on Which to Judge

Let's say you own racehorses.  Well one day I decide to sneak out of the office and spend the day at the track betting on the ponies.  After watching your horse pull away for a big win (and with a few beers in me) I start thinking, "I've GOT to own your horse".   So I approach you to gauge your interest.  Luckily you've got lots of horses so you agree to talk about it...

So we start to negotiate on price.

You:  "I'd take $15,000 for Greased Lightnin' here..."
Me:   "What?  $15,000?!    I'd pay you like $6,000 MAYBE..."
You:  "Well...she's worth every penny of 15k...and that's actually a steal"
Me:   "Well....How do I know you're not screwing me?"
You:  "Look...don't you trust me?  She's a $20,000 horse I'm offering for $15..."

Is $6,000 too low?  Is $15,000 too high?  What is a fair price? 

One of the key things about good negotiation is to try and remove the "personal elements" of it so that we can focus on the situation.  We don't even want to get into areas of who trusts who, who likes who...who may be screwing who, etc. 

The answer is to establish an objective, mutually-agreed-upon set of objective criteria we can hold the deal up to to see if it is indeed a "fair deal".  This set of criteria will help remove the personal elements in negotiation, for once we agree on how we're going to judge the deal we can move away from our own feelings and prejudices.

Let's use the above example to set some criteria:

Me:   "Look...I don't know enough about horseracing and racehorses to tell if that is a good deal or not..."
You:  "Well...trust me...it is."
Me:   "No offense, but it's not about trust...it's about knowing what is a fair deal for both sides.  Might I suggest that we establish how we would judge what a fair deal should be and we agree on what criteria we'll base that fair judgment on?"
You:   "Sounds good...what are some thoughts you have?"
Me:   "Well...what if we looked in the Racing News paper and found comparable horses...age, racing experience, etc. and we averaged the price of 4 of them..."
You:   "Okay that's fair...but my Greased Lighnin is special...she has a winning gene in her that won't allow her to finish outside the money...I think we need to throw in there a comparative price with other horses who've won over 75% of their races like she has..."
Me:     "Well, that seems reasonable...I can live with that..."
You:    (After doing some quick research in the paper) "Doing some quick averaging here if looks like the average price of a horse her age would be around $7,300...but when you only look at horses with a 75% or better winning record, then you're looking at horses ranging from $9,500 to $13,000..."
Me:   "Okay...so it would seem that we both need to meet around $12,000 or so as a solid deal, unless either one of us can think of another factor to consider...

We may spend more time negotiating on what criteria we'll use to judge whether something  is a good deal or not!

In order to get a mutually satisfactory situation, neither side can just hold onto a position without justification saying, "Well...that's just what I think it's worth..."

Possible Criteria Platforms in Different Industries:

• Advertising --  You could base the criteria on how much other similarly-situated advertisers pay.  Then add in factors like are they willing to buy more, commit to a longer schedule, allow more flexibility on when the ad is on the air, etc.  You also need to factor in available inventory...maybe you're comparing things like..."Clients who are buying the same sized schedule, over the same length of time, with the same hold on a limited inventory..."

• Sports -- You could base the criteria on what other businesses of like size and prestige have purchased the suite for (which is the same rate for everyone) 

• Consulting -- You could base the rate on what other client's with similar situations are paying to achieve their objectives

Important Points:

• If the client wants us to be compared to what our competitors are pricing their products or service for, we need to be prepared to make the case as to why we're different or unique.  (I don't mind be compared to other trainers, but only trainers with my experience, track record, background, etc.)...
  

• I'd rather be doing the comparing about their situation, not mine...
  

• If either the buyer or seller is outrageous in what they're asking for, they need to come up with some better reasons than, "Well, that's just what I think it's worth"...IF that is they want to do a deal where both sides feel good about it and we're respected and liked...
  

• Some times the value we place on something ISN'T black and white and comparable to other things (thus the term "invaluable") , which is fine, at least we'll have a formula for giving us a 'starting point' to build on...

Exercises for the Week:

• Develop a list of possible criteria you would be comfortable using in a negotiation situation with your product or service (with you as the seller, not the buyer)

• What "special circumstances" do you need to add to enable you to get a higher rate?   Reduced inventory.  Greater service after the sale. Added value at every step, etc.

Week 3:   Develop Several Options for Satisfying the "Why" 

Week 4:   Coming to a Win-Win Conclusion 

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Greg Bennett, a partner in the innovative brand expansion and consulting organization, Altitude Premium Consulting,  LLC, has been one of the top sales and sales management trainers in professional sports and entertainment since 1988.  He has created and delivered training programs for over 80+ professional sports teams and leagues, along with several Fortune 500 companies.   Altitude Premium Consulting provides training as well as the creation of premium-branded goods for pro sports teams, entertainment companies and corporate sponsors, and is in a partnership relationship with Kroenke Sports Enterprises, owners of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Pepsi Center, the Colorado Mammoth and several other sports and entertainment entities throughout the United States.  Bennett can be reached at (303) 405-6110, or you can email Greg directly at gbennett@pepsicenter.com .