Negotiating with Vendors and Suppliers

We were 25 minutes into the call when they asked: Prospect: “So… can we get some ballpark pricing?” Me: “Happy to share. Just curious - are we currently the vendor of choice? Or are we still in the mix with others?” Prospect: “We’re still evaluating about five different vendors.” Me: “Got it. And what are you evaluating us all on?” Prospect: “Mostly features and pricing.” Me: “Appreciate the transparency. Mind if I be blunt for a second?” Prospect: “Go for it.” Me: “We don’t like to win on price. We don’t like to lose on price. We like to win on product.” Me: “If you’re telling me we’re the best solution for your team, then we can figure out how to make the pricing work. But if you’re not there yet, I’d rather not pretend price is the blocker.” Prospect: “Fair. We’re still figuring out what we really need.” Me: “That’s what I figured. And that’s why I hesitate to get deep into pricing. If you’re still defining the problem, every number’s going to feel too high.” It shifted the energy. Too many teams ask for pricing before they even know what they’re buying. They want quotes before clarity. Discounts before direction. Numbers before need. But pricing only makes sense once the value is clear. So here’s what I’ve learned: Make sure you’re the vendor of choice first. Make sure they know what they’re solving and how you solve it. Then have those money conversations. That’s how you avoid racing to the bottom. And win on the thing that matters most... The product.

"We have budget for $199,000," the procurement manager spat at me. I had a $325,000 deal forecasted, and we had 7 days left to close it. That was June, 2020. End of quarter. Egg about to be smeared all over my face. I paced around my house while my family swam at the pool. Cursing under my breath. Back then, I knew every negotiation tactic in the book. But that was the problem: My negotiation "strategy" was actually what I now call "random acts of tactics." A question here. A label there. Throw in a 'give to get.' There was no system. No process. Just grasping. Since then, I now follow a step by step process for every negotiation. Here's the first 4: 1. Summarize and Pass the Torch. Key negotiation mistake. Letting your buyer negotiate with nothing but price on their mind. Instead: Start the negotiation with this: “As we get started, I thought I’d spend the first few minutes summarizing the key elements of our partnership so we’re all on the same page. Fair?” Then spend the next 3-4 min summarizing: - the customer's problem - your (unique) solution - the proposal That cements the business value. Reminds your counterpart what's at stake. They might not admit it: But it's now twice as hard for them to be price sensitive. After summarizing, pass the torch: "How do you think we land this plane from here?" Asking questions puts you in control. Now the onus is on them. But you know what they're going to say next. 2. Get ALL Their Asks On the Table Do this before RESPONDING to any "ask" individually. When you 'summarize and pass the torch,' usually they're going to make an ask. "Discount 20% more and we land this plane!" Some asks, you might want to agree to immediately. Don't. Get EVERY one of their asks on the table: You need to see the forest for the trees. “Let’s say we [found a way to resolve that]. In addition to that, what else is still standing in our way of moving forward?” Repeat until their answer is: "Nothing. We'd sign." Then confirm: “So if we found a way to [agree on X, Y, Z], there is nothing else stopping us from moving forward together?" 3. Stack Rank They probably just threw 3-4 asks at you. Now say: "How would you stack rank these from most important to least important?” Force them to prioritize. Now for the killer: 4. Uncover the Underlying Need(s) Ignore what they're asking for. Uncover WHY they're asking for it. If you don't, you can't NEGOTIATE. You can only BARTER. You might be able to address the UNDERLYING need in a different, better way than what they're asking for. After summarizing all of their 'requests,' say this: “What’s going on in your world that’s driving you to need that?” Do that for each one. Problem-solve from there. P.S. These 7 sales skills will help you add an extra $53K to your income in the next 6 months (or less) without working more hours, more stress, or outdated “high-pressure” tactics. Go here: https://lnkd.in/ggYuTdtf

When engaging with a vendor/product solution on project work, here are things I appreciate working in a high-demand, quick turn time area of a business: 1. Clear, timely, direct communication - whether it's a project plan, updates, collab materials, or coordination, emphasis on good communication is the key to the relationship. 2. Visibility and clear expectations around capacity and bandwidth - the intent is never to burnout our vendor partners, that's no good for anyone. On the client side, it's our responsibility to advocate for the business requirements and get the value we paid for out of the engagement. Sometimes, this means we may ask for a lot, and we don't have visibility to the capacity and bandwidth management of the resources doing the work. We do not manage the workload and resources for the vendor, we rely on them to take care of their people. If the ask exceeds capacity, please tell us. Please help us manage expectations and timelines on our side. You can tell me, "that's not possible," as long as you tell me why and when it will be. That gives us something to work with if reprioritization or securing more resources is necessary. 3. Accuracy and expertise - I assume that no one knows their area of expertise more than the vendor/solution. And I deeply appreciate when that level of knowledge is proactively brought to the table through the lens of our unique business application. 4. Accountability - when mistakes happen or things fall through the cracks, as they do, I will always ask for an after action review and hold partners accountable by requesting a plan for mitigation of future mistakes. Especially, because in my line of work, mistakes are often public and with a high level of business risk. Proactively providing this after action review is always a positive to building credibility and trust.

I've analyzed 10,000+ sales calls and discovered something shocking… Elite closers NEVER discount when asked, "Can I get a better price?" While most reps panic and immediately cave, the top 1% have a completely different playbook 👇 Instead, they have a systematic approach that PRESERVES margins while CLOSING more deals. When you're quick to discount, you communicate TWO things that DESTROY trust: 1️⃣ "YOU CAN'T TRUST ME". They'll think: "Why didn't they give me the best price initially?" This makes them suspicious of everything else you've said. 2️⃣ "MY PRODUCT ISN'T WORTH IT". You're telling them you don't believe in your own value. If YOU don't believe it, why should THEY? Before using any strategy, run the objection through my H.E.A.R.T. framework: - H-ear them: "Cari, I appreciate the ask." - E-laborate: "Help me understand why you're asking?" - A-side: “Aside from the pricing, is anything else giving you pause?" - R-eclarify value: "What did you like most about our solution?" - T-ransition: Now use one of these 5 strategies... ➡️STRATEGY #1. THE REDUCTION CLOSE "Let's review everything in your package and remove what's 'nice-to-have' versus 'must-have.' Then we'll recalculate." You're NOT giving a discount. You're reducing what they're buying. Most prospects realize they want everything and end up paying full price anyway. ➡️STRATEGY #2. THE SUBSTITUTE CLOSE "I know we discussed Option X. Another option is Y, it does things 1, 2, and 3 but doesn't have 4, 5, or 6. However, it's $XXX less." Again, NO discount. Just a lower-priced alternative that creates value comparison. When they see what they lose, they often stick with the premium solution. ➡️STRATEGY #3. THE UPSELL VALUE GIVE "I can't discount, but I CAN include Premium Support for 30 days. Normally reserved for our highest tier and costs 30% more." The magic? They often upgrade after experiencing the premium feature! This is my personal favorite with the highest conversion. ➡️STRATEGY #4. THE 3 OPTION CLOSE Present good/better/best options BEFORE the price objection happens. When they ask for a discount, guide them to the lower option. This makes THEM decide between features vs. price. Instead of YOU deciding between discount or no deal. ➡️STRATEGY #5. FLEXIBLE PAYMENT TERMS Instead of cutting price, adjust WHEN and HOW they pay: → Half now, half in 30 days → Payments over 3 months → Net-30 instead of Net-15 One Fortune 500 client increased close rates 32% with this approach alone. ➡️THE LAST RESORT: GIVE TO GET If you absolutely MUST discount, NEVER give without getting something in return: "I can do 10% off if we add 5 more licenses." OR "I can do 10% off if you introduce me to 5 other business owners who could use our solution." You're conditioning how you do business AND maximizing value. — Hey sales pros, want to handle objections better? Go here: https://lnkd.in/g-uJ7ECX

Negotiations don’t go wrong—they start wrong. Through my experience, I can often tell within the first 30 minutes whether a negotiation will take a collaborative or positional direction. The early signals—the tone, structure, and mindset of the parties—set the course for either value creation or value extraction. Too often, negotiations begin with adversarial positioning, where each side stakes out demands, focuses on "winning," and sees concessions as the primary path to agreement. This zero-sum mentality is where most negotiations start wrong. The problem isn’t what happens later—it’s how we approach the process from the outset. Do you negotiate how to negotiate before you start negotiating? This is a game-changer. Before discussing numbers or terms, set the stage for success. Consider opening with: "I am here today to help you reduce your risk, cost, and liabilities while improving your profits. Would you be interested in having me assist you with this?" This shifts the conversation from position-based bargaining to problem-solving and mutual value creation. SMARTnership® negotiation flips the traditional approach. Instead of defaulting to competitive bargaining, it starts by identifying asymmetric values, trust currency, and hidden gains that can turn the negotiation into a collaborative value-maximizing process. The real difference lies in: ✔ Mindset: Are we here to protect our own turf or explore mutual benefit?  ✔ Communication: Is the focus on claiming or creating value?  ✔ Trust: Is there openness to share real needs, costs, and priorities? If the first 30 minutes are spent staking positions, debating individual gains, or withholding critical information, the negotiation is already off track. But if we establish transparency, mutual benefit, and creative problem-solving early on, we unlock the hidden potential of the deal. Next time you step into a negotiation, ask yourself: Are we starting right? #Negotiation #SMARTnership #ValueCreation #TrustCurrency Tarek Amine Tine Anneberg Francis Goh, FSIArb, FCIArb Francisco Cosme Gražvydas Jukna Juan Manuel García P. Darryl Legault World Commerce & Contracting BMI Executive Institute #negotiationtraining Daniel McLuskie

My #1 tip in negotiation is to make the other person feel like they've won by giving the illusion of choice. I really can't believe how powerful this has been for me personally, professionally & for my sales team. BACKGROUND: I've noticed something over & over again in any negotiation - people feel good when they have control. No one likes to feel out of control or that their fate is not in their own hands. So when I go toe-to-toe with a colleague, a prospect or my mother I think about how I can make them feel like they're in control by letting them choose the outcome. Only the outcomes they're choosing between, are options I presented to them because I'm cool with any of the outcomes. EXAMPLE 1: Here's an example. Let's say I quote the prospect a $20k deal and they push back for $15k. I know I won't go below $17.5k so I say: --- Hey - I've taken this back to my team since I know a more affordable service is important for you given your budget. You're really crushing me on the negotiation so I know I need to meet you halfway. I'm excited to share a few different options we came up with and I need your help deciding which is the best one for you so you can feel really good about this deal: (1) $20k deal with the 13th month free (2) $18k deal where you do a case study with us (3) $17.5k deal but it's a two-year commitment --- Prospect now has the illusion of choice. And always expect a good negotiator to collapse your choices by asking for the cheapest one with no strings attached. I know they're going to counter with $17.5k, one-year deal which I expect and am ok with. EXAMPLE 2: Second example, attached, is me negotiating yesterday with a LinkedIn Social Selling coach I just signed with (I've never tried one but think I could use one). My highest willingness to pay was $10k cash for 3 months. Just like in the first example I gave 3 options for the illusion of choice. They countered, collapsing my options to $10k + the references. Smart move and a tad beyond what I wanted but I signed and we both walk away feeling good. I'm amusing myself writing this because this new coach will both hate & love this post ;) #negotiation #saas #tips

𝐈𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞! 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 “𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆”, 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔? 🔶 In my quest for info last week w/ my supplier peeps, I learned some have formal “customer of choice” programs, and some don’t.  🔶Anywho, being a “customer of choice” means you’ve got “elite” status with your supplier, which can come with benefits. Everyone likes benefits, right!? 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 "𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞" 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬: 💎 Thought leadership. 💎 Market Intelligence. 💎 Prioritized capacity\ supply. 💎 Access to their “A-team” personnel. 💎 Preferred pricing, better commercial terms. 💎 Right-of-first refusal on innovation, Joint R&D, quicker GTM. *𝐵𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑔𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑙 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡. 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑎𝑎ℎℎ-𝑚𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙-𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑠. (𝐴𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝑜 "𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙-𝑢𝑝" 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒.) 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝟐-𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦: ✔ Ensure they’re invited to participate in RFPs. ✔Explore longer contract terms where feasible. ✔Champion their ideas (ensuring you give them credit). ✔Host supplier days for them to showcase their capabilities. ✔Provide them with references to help them expand their business. ✔Recognize them publicly in the industry\ amongst their peer group. ✔Give them white glove service. Promote engagement with stakeholders & leaders across the organization. ✔Transparently share info and engage with them on: strategy, forecast data, biz dev plans, and news. ✔Consider allowing them to use your company’s logo in marketing materials (with pre-approval of course, and if policy allows.) ✔ Maybe they want to develop new capabilities, geographies, or markets. Be open to exploring those with them as an innovation & learning partner. 𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐭 𝐔𝐩 & 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: ▶ Not all suppliers require the same treatment. Segmentation is important! ▶ Particularly with your strategic alliance suppliers, explore customer of choice benefits 𝐴𝑁𝐷 ensure you're being a good partner in return. ▶ 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑳 𝑽𝑨𝑳𝑼𝑬 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔. 📢 𝗣.𝗦. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻?

There’s a big difference between handling objections and understanding them. Handling sounds like this: Prospect: “The other agent will sell my home for 2%, not 3% like you.” Agent: “I understand how you feel. Many people felt the same way. But what they found was that they ended up leaving money on the table because the lower-fee agents didn’t market the property as aggressively or negotiate as strongly.” When you’re convincing, you’re losing. Of course you’re going to say that. You’re biased. You have commission breath. Convincing comes across as dismissive. Understanding sounds like this: “You want to make sure you’re getting a fair deal and aren’t overpaying on commissions.” That hits differently, doesn’t it? It names what the person actually cares about. Not just the words, but the feeling behind them. When people feel understood, they relax. They stop bracing for the rebuttal. They open up because they feel like you’re with them, not against them. That’s why understanding is better. Because objections aren’t walls to climb. They’re windows into what someone values. Once people feel understood, then you can poke the bear. Ask a question that illuminates a potential knowledge gap. Examples: “With a reduced commission, the pool of agents eager to bring buyers through your door can shrink. How are you thinking about handling that trade-off?” “Part of the commission goes toward attracting buyer’s agents to your property. If that piece is reduced, it can impact exposure. How are you making sure your home still gets full visibility?” “Sometimes that 1% savings looks great on paper, but if it means your home doesn’t get as much attention or as many strong offers, it could end up costing you much more than you save. How are you weighing that trade-off?” No pushing. No pressing. No persuading. Just illuminating a knowledge gap without leading people to a desired answer. Because the goal isn’t to persuade. it’s to let people persuade themselves. Buyers have the answers. Sellers have the questions.

3-step negotiating framework to finish Q4 strong and give away less of your commissions 👇 ✅ 1/ Anchor Anchor the entire negotiation around why they want to buy and what happens if they don’t. → Why do they want to buy? Confirm the business impact the buyer is expecting to make with your solution. Talk about what happens if they do nothing. The buyer needs to understand that they’d be crazy not to do this. → Are we the vendor of choice? DO NOT negotiate unless you are the vendor of choice. This avoids situations where buyers use you to get the vendor they really want to lower their price. If yes: “Can you tell me why?” If anything but a yes: “Sounds like we aren’t your top choice. Before we go any further, can we make sure we’re aligned on what you’re trying to accomplish?” → What’s the risk in using a solution besides ours? This includes attempting to do this on their own or sticking to their current solution. ✅ 2/ Align Now it’s time to get on the same page as the buyer. → What’s the ideal “up and running” date? This one’s simple. Confirm the date they need your solution live and why that’s important. → What is their internal purchasing process? Identify potential snags: 1) Has the budget been approved for this project? 2) What could be perceived as more urgent than this? 3) Are there any upcoming organizational efforts that could affect this? Confirm signing process: 4) Who needs to approve prior to signature? 5) Will my team send for e-signature or will yours? Launch: 6) When can we schedule an implementation call? ✅ 3/ Negotiate The buyer’s chompin’ at the bit to talk pricing now. → Find out what the buyer wants & understand why. Always get the buyer to open up first. Bite your tongue. Get them talking. “Can you help me understand where we’re at an impasse?” “Can you share what’s driving the need for a lower contract price?” 💰 Budgeted Amounts: Is there a legitimate budget constraint? ⛔️ Procurement Policies: Is there a purchasing threshold? 🤼♀️ Sport: Are they just asking because that’s what they’re supposed to do? → Counter Share what you’re able to do. Talk about what’s important, where you have flexibility, and ask for something in return. “Here’s what’s important to us…” “Here’s where I’m flexible…” “Here’s what we’d love to get in return…” → Secure next steps Hopefully, you’ve made progress at this point! ⛔️ If they need to go back to their team: Set another meeting to review ✅ If they agree to the terms: Get the timeline for their next steps ================ Want more? I’m running a webinar this Wednesday with 4x President’s Club achiever at Gong, Brian LaManna. He’s sharing a negotiation framework to finish Q4 strong and give away less of your commissions. Register here to join us: https://hubs.ly/Q028M3CV0 #Sales #Prospecting #Outbound

It’s crunch time for AEs. Here's my #1 negotiation tip to help bring your deals over the finish line in Q4: Always confirm that they want to move forward with your solution before offering incentives or discounts!!! This may seem obvious, but WAY too many sellers offer Q4 incentives as a way to close the deal before validating that the customer is ready to move forward! They may still have unspoken concerns, such as technical fit, implementation support, timing, or higher priorities. If you try to negotiate before addressing these concerns, you are simply negotiating against yourself. Even if they mention price as a concern, you still need to validate that it’s their ONLY concern before negotiating. Here’s a great question to ask before ever offering an incentive or discount: “Before we discuss any Q4 incentives, I just want to confirm that you are ready to move forward and have no other questions or concerns we should address besides pricing.” If you get their confirmation, then ask about their pricing concerns before sharing what you can offer. You need to make sure your incentive is mapped directly to their concerns. For example, if their concern revolves around the contract length, you can offer to provide them with the 60 month rate on a 36 months term if they move forward this month. If their concern is around cash flow, you may be able to offer semi-annual or quarterly billing. If their concern is about license or consumption commitment, you may be able to do a ramp plan. The main point is that you need to make sure PRICE or COMMERCIALS are the only concern before you negotiate or offer anything. And always, always making sure you are negotiating directly with the decision maker who can say yes. Otherwise, your incentives will likely miss the mark. P.S. I just released a FREE COURSE to help you close more large deals in 2025. It’s called Fundamentals of Elite Tech Sales. You can get it here: https://lnkd.in/ghHvbgyS