Sales professionals now confront the most serious threat to their success. Regardless of their size, industry, country, customer type, nature of the relationship or amount of value they provide, sales professionals are finding that purchasing decisions are increasingly being limited by procurement. The modern procurement function is purchasing on steroids. Where traditional purchasing managers negotiated, procurement officials attempt to dictate. Procurement deploys a variety of tactics designed to do one thing: gain unprecedented discounts and concessions out of even the most sophisticated sales professionals. This book is a strategy guide for salespeople to help them level the procurement playing field by showing readers how to assess the game procurement plays, describing proven ways to resist discounting and protect margins, demonstrating ways to keep value at the forefront of negotiations, offering targeted tactics to protect hard-earned profits from mindless discounting, and detailing eight strategies effective in any type of pricing negotiation. This book will be an invaluable resource for B2B sales professionals, customer-facing professionals, and executives responsible for leading successful sales organizations.

B2B sales professionals: resist mindless discounting, level the playing field against tough procurement organizations, and close the deal on your terms! Negotiating with Backbone, Second Edition definitive guide for every sales pro facing the “procurement buzzsaw” – and it’s just been updated with even more powerful strategies and techniques! Where traditional purchasing managers negotiated, procurement officials seek to dictate, through multiple tactics with a single intent: to gain unprecedented discounts and concessions. Premier pricing strategist and sales consultant Reed K. Holden gives you the powerful new strategies and tactics you need to protect your margins and get the right deal. Holden guides you through recognizing what purchasing negotiators are really up to, keep value at the forefront of negotiations, and avoiding the mindless discounting that wrecks profitability. Holden details eight strategies for all types of pricing negotiations, including approaches for negotiating with price buyers, relationship buyers, value buyers, and poker players, reverse auctions, and much more. In this Second Edition, he offers extensive new coverage of establishing your foundation of value, and developing crucial give-get options, including value-added services. This book will be an invaluable resource for every B2B sales professional, customer-facing professional, and every executive responsible for leading successful sales organizations.

Offers strategies and advice on retaining pricing power for business-to-business salespeople who have to negotiate with procurement departments.

“Filled with great strategies you can immediately put to use in your business and personal lives . . . extremely entertaining, thought-provoking.” —Tyra Banks, CEO, TYRA Beauty, and creator of America’s Next Top Model Some negotiations are easy. Others are more difficult. And then there are situations that seem completely hopeless. Conflict is escalating, people are getting aggressive, and no one is willing to back down. And to top it off, you have little power or other resources to work with. Harvard professor and negotiation adviser Deepak Malhotra shows how to defuse even the most potentially explosive situations and to find success when things seem impossible. Malhotra identifies three broad approaches for breaking deadlocks and resolving conflicts, and draws out scores of actionable lessons using behind-the-scenes stories of fascinating real-life negotiations, including drafting of the US Constitution, resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis, ending bitter disputes in the NFL and NHL, and beating the odds in complex business situations. But he also shows how these same principles and tactics can be applied in everyday life, whether you are making corporate deals, negotiating job offers, resolving business disputes, tackling obstacles in personal relationships, or even negotiating with children. As Malhotra reminds us, regardless of the context or which issues are on the table, negotiation is always, fundamentally, about human interaction. No matter how high the stakes or how protracted the dispute, the object of negotiation is to engage with other human beings in a way that leads to better understandings and agreements. The principles and strategies in this book will help you do this more effectively in every situation. “This book is magic for any deal maker.” —Daniel H. Pink, New York Times-bestselling author

Instant Negotiator Shows you: -- How to turn your natural talents into a gold mine -- How to enrich your life by mastering a powerful yet simple five-step system -- How to solve problems fast and find personal and professional satisfaction -- How to multiply your success and accumulate unimaginable wealth -- How to defend yourself against manipulative people -- How to double sales production and take your income over the top -- How to negotiate effectively with the opposite sex

What exactly is sales force automation? The idea is simple - using technology to maximize sale productivity, minimize cost and enhance customer service. This "ultimate competitive weapon" can streamline the sales process, target the right customers and dramatically eliminate downtime and waste. High-Impact Sales Force Automation is a hands-on guide to implementing the latest computer technology in sales and marketing departments. The author's unique background in both business and science provides a practical, yet in-depth perspective on sales force automation. And all with a sharp focus on the backbone of any business: the customer. This book is an excellent reference for corporate managers, sales professionals, organizational planners, marketing consultants and anyone interested in improving sales, customer service and quality control. Real-life business models and concrete examples make applying these concepts to any organization as simple as clicking on a mouse.