Negotiations Training

The Sky is the Limit:
Setting High Aspirations

Imagine a sales professional has a meeting with a client who has been looking to purchase five thousand yards of a very popular yet pricey fabric for a new line of designer cushions. The sales professional knows that he needs to get just a hair over $60.00 a yard to make his target for the month and the absolute least he can get for the fabric is $50.00 a yard. Right now, his company is the only one manufacturing this fabric so he does have a bit of an advantage. Then again, his buyer is a shrewd negotiator...

Sales Professional: "Based on a purchase of five thousand yards, we can price out the fabric at $60.00 a yard. "

Client: "How much!? $60.00? I can't believe that... not when I'm purchasing five thousand yards. Surely you can do a lot better than that."

Sales Professional: "Well, I guess... you know... I suppose we could price it at $50.00 a yard. Is that better?"

Client: "Yeah... I suppose that's better. I need it shipped and here by next week, okay?"

Sales Professional: "Sure, yeah... okay."

At first thought, the sales professional thought he did pretty well. After all, he didn't dip below his bottom line price and the buyer did agree to purchase. Once he starting factoring in the expedited shipping cost, he realized the purchase price was actually under $50.00 a yard. What he didn't know is that the buyer would've paid $60.00 a yard but was planning to react no matter the cost.

What happened? Simply put, the sales professional didn't set his aspirations high enough. In his sales organization, other sales professionals routinely sell the same fabric for as much as $70.00 a yard. How do they do that? They start with higher aspirations. By providing an initial higher price, what they consider their "Wish", they have room to negotiate down to their "Aspiration". If push comes to shove, they can go lower towards their "Bottom Line" but, more often than not, they fare much better.

Those successful sales professionals set their aspirations higher. You should, too. Those who set high aspirations by asking for more than they expect usually end up doing better than those who set low aspirations. If you start a negotiation by asking for more than you reasonably expect you will receive, you have a better chance of truly getting your desired outcome. Otherwise, as you can imagine, you and the other party will negotiate towards an agreement and you will move further and further away from what you deem acceptable.

As you negotiate, avoid making large concessions. This protects your ability to achieve your true aspiration. Make small concessions and always ask for a concession in return. If you give a concession without asking for something in return, you send a signal to the other party that if they keep asking, you will continue to cave in. Large concessions also send a red flag that perhaps you did indeed start much higher than reasonably expected.