Four Steps of Sales: Meetings and Negotiations

 
Hello! Welcome back to our weekly blog.

This week we will discuss meetings and negotiations and how to succeed in sales situations. If you happen to work in sales, there is a chance you already know about the number of sales meetings and negotiations you will face working in the sales department. The major difference between meetings and negotiations is meetings involve sharing information, whereas negotiations require tradeables and as a result, a potential contract between the parties will be signed.

First, let’s talk about meetings. Much like any other profession, sales are work which revolves around people, therefore meetings are an essential part of any salesperson’s day. There are different types of meetings – such as weekly meetings, quarterly meetings or randomly occurring occasional meetings. Regardless of the meetings’ nature, the preparation process is different for each one. For example, quarterly meetings must be more carefully prepared for than weekly meetings hence the objectives play an important role as well as the amount of information is wider. Cultural differences must be considered despite the nature of the meeting. For instance, there are many differences in greeting people – handshakes are considered to be rude in some parts of Asia, whereas Europeans consider handshakes formal and very appropriate.

Secondly, let’s talk about negotiations, and more specifically sales negotiations. As our lecturer Timo Holopainen has said, “negotiations are hard selling.” In sales negotiations, the parties negotiate tradeables which include everything within the sales contract – cultural differences also play an essential role in this process. For example, according to Mr. Holopainen, who has worked in the United States of America, has brought up that the people from the States like to negotiate in an extremely detailed manner. Sales negotiations also must be properly prepared. The salesperson must conduct a thorough need identification of the customer’s needs – it is also important to prepare for any objectives the customer may have. One skill to have to succeed in sales negotiations is to master SPIN questions. SPIN-questions are an effective tool to utilize in these situations, specifically. With proper analysis of the customer and properly prepared sales meetings, you will be guaranteed a successful sales negotiation.

Thanks again for reading this weekly blog post! Welcome back to read about 4th step in next post! If you have in mind the stuff you would like us to write or any feedback, please email siiri.velling@edu.turkuamk.fi.

– Five Fellows