One Way to Take Control of Price-Driven Sales

Recent shifts in customer buying behavior still have suppliers playing a seemingly endless game of catch up with buyers as they try to manage the ongoing implications these changes have on B2B sales. In previous posts we’ve discussed how today’s informed buyers are leaving little for our reps to compete on beyond price and how the best reps combat this by embracing Challenger rep behaviors in order to reframe how customers think about their business and to take control of the buying process.

But all too often reps take the opposite approach when facing price-driven commercial conversations. In an attempt to make negotiations more amicable and to encourage collaboration, many reps will err on the side of being too passive and avoid creating tension at all costs. And, given what we know about today’s world of sales, it should not come as surprise that this strategy only leads to customers controlling the interaction which means indecision, lost deals, or at best, marginless business.

The natural question that arises is: “How can we scalably equip our reps to be more assertive in negotiations and better take control of the sale?” To help their reps confidently broaden customers’ perspectives and shift conversations away from price and back to value, DuPont developed a clever tool for reps to use when preparing for upcoming negotiations. Not only does DuPont’s Controlled Negotiation Roadmap guide reps on how negotiations should unfold, it also helps them prepare to maintain an assertive posture in front of prospects without appearing too inflexible or aggressive. 

At a high-level, the roadmap follows these four principles:

Create an Action Plan—A simple template structures reps’ negotiation preparation and helps them visualize a path to closure ahead of time, removing the burden of thinking in-the-moment during the actual customer interaction.
Shift Discussion to Value—Providing reps with guidance makes them feel more comfortable postponing customer requests that may create tension.
Refocus and Explore Priorities—Identifying additional customer needs and solution components allows reps to expand negotiables away from just price, creating better outcomes for both parties.
Exchange Value…Don’t Give It Away—Understanding how different concession patterns impact customers helps reps maintain negotiation control without harming long-term relationships.

CEB Sales members, to learn more about how DuPont helps reps manage constructive tension in sales negotiations, be sure check out the case study and listen to the podcast. Also visit our Challenger Selling and Taking Control resources to learn more about how you can arm your sales force to challenge customers.