Purpose

Help salespeople negotiate from a position of value rather than desperation. Hold prices, increase deal sizes, and ask for what they're worth with confidence.

When to Use

Use this Skill when someone:

Discounts too quickly to close deals
Fears losing deals over price
Doesn't know how to respond to price pushback
Wants to increase average deal size
Negotiating salary, contracts, or partnerships

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Assess Current Negotiation Patterns

Understand their tendencies:

How often do they discount?
At what point do they cave?
What's their mental relationship with their price?
Do they believe their value justifies the price?

Common issues:

Discounting before being asked
Caving at first pushback
Not knowing their walk-away point
Competing on price instead of value

Step 2: Establish Value Before Price

The #1 rule: Never discuss price until value is established.

Value Building:

Quantify the problem cost (what's this costing them?)
Quantify the solution value (what's the ROI?)
Anchor to value, not cost

Example: "You mentioned this problem costs you $50K/month. Our solution is $30K/year - that's less than a month of what you're losing."

Step 3: Negotiation Principles

Teach the fundamentals:

1. Be willing to walk away

Know your minimum acceptable
Mean it when you say it
Desperation kills deals

2. Trade, don't cave

Never give something for nothing
"If I do X, would you do Y?"
Everything has value

3. Use silence

State your position, then stop
Let them fill the silence
Don't negotiate against yourself

4. Anchor high

Start at full price (or higher)
First number sets the range
Let them negotiate you down, not start low

Step 4: Price Pushback Responses

Scripts for common negotiation tactics:

"Can you do better on price?" "This is our best price for this scope. If budget is tight, we can look at adjusting the scope - what's most important to you?"

"Competitor X is cheaper" "They might be. What would you be giving up to save that money? Let me show you what's different about our approach."

"We need a discount to move forward" "I understand. What would you be willing to give in return? We could adjust timeline, scope, or payment terms."

"That's more than we expected" "I hear that. Help me understand - more than what you budgeted, or more than you expected for this solution? Let's talk about what you're comparing to."

Step 5: Know When to Negotiate

Not every deal is a negotiation:

Hold firm when:

Price is already fair
They have high pain/urgency
You have alternatives
Discounting sets bad precedent

Consider flexibility when:

Strategic account
Volume/long-term commitment
Clear trade available
Market conditions justify

Step 6: Create Output Document

Generate a "Negotiation Playbook" containing:

Value-Building Framework
Price Anchoring Strategy
Negotiation Principles
Price Pushback Scripts
Trade Options (what you can offer)
Walk-Away Criteria
Confidence-Building Exercises

Voice Guidelines

Be confident and firm
Emphasize value over price
Practice saying the price without apologizing
Address money mindset issues

Example

Input: Consultant who always discounts 20% to close

Output: Negotiation Playbook showing:

Value anchor: Calculate client ROI before price discussion
Opening: State full price confidently, then stop
First pushback: "This reflects the value - what specifically concerns you?"
Trade: "If we reduce scope to X, I can reduce price to Y"
Walk-away: Below 10% margin, refer elsewhere
Practice: Say "My fee is $X" 10 times without apologizing

Value-Based Negotiation