Where to Negotiate and How to Set the Stage 

Where to negotiate is seldom an issue in sales, because you’re either going to be at their site or on the phone. The conventional wisdom that being at the other person’s site puts you at a disadvantage, simply isn’t applicable here. You are always at their site.

The advantage to going to their site is obvious. You can meet with other people. They have all of their information there. And since you are always at the customer’s site, you get used to feeling comfortable in that environment.

However, there may, be some real advantages, on occasion, to bringing them to your site. Meetings with senior management, facility tours, the ability to better wine and dine them, all of these things can enhance your negotiating position. You won’t do this all the time or even most of the time, but keep it open as an option.

As a general rule, if you are in charge of the physical arrangements for the negotiation, you want to assure that everything is designed to make the buying team comfortable. This just naturally fits into your overall relationship building process during the negotiation.

On the other hand, some buyers have read some of the trickster negotiation books and have come to the conclusion that game playing has its advantages in setting up the physical arrangements for negotiations.

The key to dealing effectively with this kind of game player is to recognize the tactic. As we said before, a tactic recognized is a useless tactic. (Continued on page 16)

A first class negotiation training program results in first class profit results.