Mastering the Art of B2B Sales Negotiations: Offensive and Defensive Strategies

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If you want to retain more of your revenue, profit, and commissions while still taking care of your clients, you need to negotiate effectively.

Most of what you see about negotiation covers only the basics. Although fundamentals are useful, they are not sufficient when you're up against procurement professionals or other contacts who know how to leverage their position to reduce how much their company invests in their relationship with you. High-stakes negotiations require a win–win outcome; otherwise, you risk losing revenue, profit, and commissions. No one wants losses like that.

In a few weeks, we will be offering a comprehensive advanced negotiation course, so watch for more information.

Understanding the Fundamentals of B2B Sales Negotiations

B2C negotiations are often simpler than complex enterprise deals, where both parties are vying for the best possible terms. B2B negotiations frequently require sales reps to manage multiple stakeholders, longer sales cycles, and larger deals with extended contracts. In these scenarios, securing the right deal on the first attempt is crucial.

The psychology of negotiations reveals that sales reps often worry about closing the deal, while buyers may have multiple options; if they don’t make a deal with you, they can work with one of your competitors instead. But, as a sales rep, you either secure the deal or you don't.

Having a BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) is beneficial, but if you are outmatched in a negotiation, your BATNA might simply be walking away without a deal.

Offensive Negotiation Strategies

In a negotiation, offensive tactics are used to gain an advantage over the other party. Many salespeople are unaware of these tactics and the potential negative outcomes that arise from not knowing how to defend against them.

Anchoring the Negotiation Early: The first number someone throws out in a negotiation is called the anchor because all other numbers are compared to that initial suggestion. It does not matter how serious the anchor is, or what concessions come with it. The party employing this tactic early can make it challenging for the other party to shift the terms, so it establishes the position of the party using it.
Using High-Value Questions to Gain Leverage: High-value questions allow a seller to uncover the buyer’s true motivations and needs. Examples include powerful questions that shift the conversation in your favor. For instance: “What is most important, and why is it critical for you?”
Strategic Concessions: Giving up something small can often help a party gain something more significant in return. Effective strategic concessions are things that you can give up without much of a cost, but the other party finds true value in what you offer. This can also create a sense of reciprocity that supports a win–win outcome.

Defensive Negotiation Strategies

In a negotiation, defensive tactics help salespeople respond to the buyer’s actions. Preparing defensive strategies can help understand what to do when a negotiation begins going in the wrong direction for you to reach a deal.

Handling Price Objections without Discounting: Defending your pricing and your client’s investment is essential. Our preferred strategy for handling price objections is called triangulation. You present different models by explaining the benefits of each one, followed by their respective concessions. This achieves the critical goal of steering the conversation away from price and to focus on value instead. Triangulation can also help defend the ROI and long-term value of your solution.
Responding to Competitive Pressure: It’s common for contacts to pressure you into matching competitors, which can harm your revenue, profit, and commissions. You can use triangulation to justify the value difference between your investment and your competitor’s lower price. Another effective defense is turning competitive pressure into an opportunity to differentiate your offering. These strategies can be layered for maximum effect.
The Power of Silence and Pausing: Leveraging silence as a tool can compel buyers to reveal more information or reconsider their demands. This requires strong emotional control. Strategic pauses can shift the momentum in your favor.
Staying Calm Under Pressure: Techniques for keeping emotions in check during tense negotiations. Maintaining composure can give you a psychological advantage.

Combining Offensive and Defensive Strategies: Real-World Scenarios

Michael is negotiating a new contract with a manufacturing company. As the talks progress, the company's representative gradually raises new demands. Instead of feeling pressured into agreeing, Michael calmly reviews the planned concessions he prepared ahead of time. He knows where he can give ground, and where he must stand firm. By offering a concession in exchange for something of value from the other side, Michael maintains control and keeps the negotiation balanced.

Rationale: When faced with increasing demands, offering planned, reciprocal concessions ensures that you’re not simply giving away value without maintaining balance.

David walks into a meeting with a client who proposes an unrealistically low budget for a large project. Instead of becoming defensive, David asks open-ended questions to understand how the client arrived at that figure. By carefully questioning the client’s rationale, David discovers that the client misunderstood the scope of work. With that clarified, David resets the conversation and presents a more appropriate budget, which the client agrees to.