Cambridge Business Association
B2B Street Fighting
Book

B2B Street Fighting

Three Counterpunches to: "I Can Get the Same Thing Cheaper"

Brian J. Dietmeyer
Think! Inc., 2011
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Recommendation

Brian Dietmeyer, author of Strategic Negotiation, routinely writes, lectures, consults and conducts workshops on negotiation. Dietmeyer teaches you how to adopt a street fighter’s stance in a business-to-business (B2B) sales negotiation, counterpunching effectively when the buyer pounds away at you on price. Using Dietmeyer’s proven, data-based approach, you can move negotiation discussions away from price – where the buyer wants it to be – to your preferred boxing ring – value. getAbstract recommends this intelligent approach to B2B sales reps and to those who must negotiate with tough-minded buyers, winner-take-all procurement officers and savvy sourcing executives.

Summary

Buyers Are Tougher Than Ever

Negotiating a business-to-business (B2B) sales deal was never easy, but it’s even more challenging in hard economic times. Buyers were tough before; now they’re ruthless.

Nevertheless, with a street-fighting approach, you can counterpunch against price barricades and use carefully documented facts about your value proposition to get what you – and your customers – want. You can predict 97% of your negotiating opponent’s tactics. And, anything you can forecast so precisely, you can control.

Negotiation Trends

According to a recent study, current negotiation trends include:

  • “More professional buyers” – Procurement professionals strive for expertise in negotiating. They care about beating you down on price, so they focus strictly on the negotiation itself, not the product or service you’re selling. With that goal in mind, they approach every negotiation with maximum diligence. In contrast, most sales organizations and their salespeople treat negotiations as an afterthought.
  • “Increasing price focus” – For buyers, price seems to be everything. Offer them more practical, far-reaching details about...

About the Author

Brian Dietmeyer, author of Strategic Negotiation, is the CEO of Think! Inc., a consulting firm that trains salespeople on negotiation techniques.

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