Developing a Road Map for a Major Account Negotiation
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ecause of the complexity of the negotiation itself and the significance of getting it right, the actual plan for a major account negotiation must be developed with care. In any major account, if the sales team does not develop a well-conceived and coordinated negotiation plan, they are playing Russian roulette with the long-term relationship with the customer and with the profitability of the sales opportunity. In major accounts, the negotiation process is complex with many false starts, barriers along the way, and from time to time unanticipated good fortunes. Very few, even the most talented, can navigate the journey without a well-developed road map. Let’s review one four-part framework that can provide guidance for developing that road map: Delineate the major issues. In major accounts there is not just one issue that requires negotiation. So, the first step in designing the negotiation plan is to delineate and verify that all the issues are on the ta-
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ble. Sometimes the customer will explicitly spell out the issues in a formal “letter of response” to a proposal or presentation. Other times the clarification of the real issues requires a series of interactions with the customer over an extended period of time. Understand the customer’s position. Once the major issues have been identified, the next step is to be clear about where the customer is coming from on each of the issues. It is critical to have a “best approximation” answer to three fundamental positioning considerations: Priority. What is the priority of the various issues and what is the rationale driving that priority? Consensus. What is the customer’s position on each of the issues and what is the degree of consensus among the key players on that position? Flexibility. How wide or narrow is the “Zone of Flexibility” for the position
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