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Business Meeting Etiquette
Business etiquette is essentially about building relationships with colleagues, clients or customers. In the business world, it is these people that can influence your success or failure. Etiquette, and in particular business etiquette, is...
Finding A Capable Agent To Meet Your Real Estate Needs
Whether you’re a first-time buyer, selling your current home or relocating to a different part of the country, the support of a qualified, knowledgeable real estate agent can alleviate many of your concerns and ensure a smooth transaction. A...
Home Inspections - Before Signing the Contract
Home Inspections - Resale Homes
The purchase of a home is for most people, the single largest
financial transaction they will make in their lifetime. When
purchasing a resale home, the home inspection process is vitally
important. Done...
Olds Resurrection?
Back during the late nineties, a conversation at a swank Auburn
Hills, Michigan, French bistro turned heated when the talk
shifted from personal pleasantries to discussing the ending of
one of the most storied names in the automotive...
What Are The Benefits and Consequences Of Getting Rid Of Debt The Easy Way
We have all experienced getting so far in debt we don’t know how we’re going to get out. There are many different options that you have for quick relief with benefits and consequences. You can look at the overview and see which option is the...
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UNDERSTANDING THE CORPORATE BUYER
Selling your services to corporations is an attractive proposition. The contracts are larger than with small businesses and individuals, and often longer-term. There's the possibility of repeat business worth many billable hours at respectable rates. But the best clients are not always the easiest to get. If you don't grasp the realities of the corporate environment, you may sabotage even a hot lead. Here are five important keys to working with the corporate buyer. 1. Managers are busy. This is just as true in economic downturns as during a boom. When business is slow, unnecessary employees get laid off. The people left behind have to pick up the slack. Busy people ignore unsolicited email and letters, and will not return your phone calls. Even when you are in the final stages of closing a deal, your contact may not return your calls for weeks. If you accept this as normal behavior instead of obsessing about how you may have caused it, you will sleep better at night and use your daylight hours more productively. 2. Hot buttons open doors. If you want to capture the interest of a busy person, you need to tell them exactly how you can help them. Calling just to introduce yourself will not get their attention. What do the people in your target market perceive to be the greatest problems they face, or the biggest goals they wish to achieve? Ask these questions of the people you serve and the other businesspeople who serve them. Read trade literature or special interest publications and educate yourself on the key issues in your marketplace. Then tell your prospects in every communication how you can help address these needs. 3. Every choice must be justified. When you sell to the owner of a small business or to an individual for his or her own use, your buyer is free to make purchasing decisions based on instinct, whim, or gut feeling. But every corporate sale must be justified to someone else in the organization. A supervisor must justify choices to a manager, the manager to an
executive, the executive to the CEO, the CEO to the board, the board to the shareholders. Each one of these people wants to look good to the next link up the chain, and dreads making a public mistake. If you want your sale to go through, you need to provide your contact with EVIDENCE why you and your solution are the best choice. 4. The bottom line rules. When you provide your evidence, it had better include dollars and cents. If you are more expensive than your competition, what added value will you provide? If hiring you will cost more than solving the company's problem in some other way, what tangible benefits will they receive that make the added expense worthwhile? Individuals and small businesses buy services in the category of nice-to-have, often to improve their quality of life or that of their employees. Corporations, especially in lean times, don't. You must sell them something they actually NEED and prove how it will enhance their bottom line. Real-life examples of results at other companies can speak volumes. Illustrations with charts and graphs are more convincing than any brochure. 5. No budget; no project. Even when the company needs what you have and thinks you're the best one for the job, the deal won't go through if there's no money in the budget. You can ask your contact to try for a budget variance, but no budget usually means your project will be deferred until the next fiscal year. Always ask if the client has a budget at the first meeting. Don't necessarily expect them to tell you how much it is -- price negotiations will come later. But if your contact can't answer budget questions, it's also a strong clue you are not talking to the decision-maker. C.J. Hayden, MCC
About the Author
C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients NOW! Since 1992, C.J. has been teaching business owners and salespeople to make more money with less effort. She is a Master Certified Coach and leads workshops internationally. Read more of her articles at www.getclientsnow.com
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Negotiation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
The first step in negotiation is to determine whether the situation is in fact a negotiation ... The book's approach, referred to as Principled Negotiation, ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Negotiation Seminars Negotiation Training Negotiations Consultants ... |
Negotiation and alternative dispute resolution seminars, negotiation training and video presentations with available keynote speakers. |
www.negotiation.com |
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Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School |
Negotiation training, research, and publications from the world's foremost authority on negotiation and dispute resolution. |
www.pon.harvard.edu |
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PON: Harvard Negotiations Project |
Please visit the Harvard Negotiation Project website for complete information and ... The Harvard Negotiation Project's mission is to improve the theory, ... |
www.pon.harvard.edu |
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The Negotiation Skills Company, Inc. |
www.negotiationskills.com/ - 3k - Cached - Similar pages |
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Global Trade Negotiations Home Page |
The Global Trade Negotiations Home Page at the Center for International Development at Harvard University - a centralized information resource on global ... |
www.cid.harvard.edu |
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Principled Negotiation |
Principled negotiation is the name given to the interest-based approach to negotiation set out in the best-known conflict resolution book, Getting to Yes, ... |
www.colorado.edu |
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Salary Negotiation and Job Offer Tutorial |
Job-seekers: Learn the basics (and advanced techniques) of the art and strategy of salary negotiation (getting the salary you want) in this tutorial. |
www.quintcareers.com |
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Salary Negotiation and Job Offer Tutorial -- Map of the Tutorial |
Site map to an expert (and free) tutorial on the art and strategy of salary and job offer negotiation. A guide to assist every job-seeker with salaries. |
www.quintcareers.com |
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Win-Win Negotiation - How to reach a fair compromise - Negotiating ... |
This article and free worksheet help you negotiate fair compromises with people whose goodwill you need. It highlights the importance of good negotiation ... |
www.mindtools.com |
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negotiation journal |
www.springerlink.com/link.asp?id=102591 - Similar pages |
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Apache Content Negotiation |
Apache's support for content negotiation has been updated to meet the ... Apache 1.2 supports 'server driven' content negotiation, as defined in the ... |
httpd.apache.org |
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JobStar--Salary Negotiation Strategies |
JobStar is a public library sponsored guide to information for the job search. Sections useful for California are: 1500 job hotlines, calendar of job and ... |
jobstar.org |
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Eric C. Gould's Negotiation Site |
Subscribe to newsletter with negotiating tips and techniques. |
www.batna.com |
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free negotiation training for sales, debt, contract, salary ... |
Free negotiation skills training for sales, contracts, debt, salary and contracts, negotiating with creditors, negotiation skills and techniques, ... |
www.businessballs.com |
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Monster.com: The Negotiation Coach |
Salary Negotiation Advice from HR Managers · Negotiating Your Future Salary Today · Overlooking Their Interests -- A Big Mistake in Salary Negotiations ... |
midcareer.monster.com |
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Negotiation Articles |
Negotiation articles for the busy entrepreneur written by a diverse group of experts, speakers, professionals, consultants, and marketing companies. |
www.pertinent.com |
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CareerJournal | Negotiating Tips - Salary Negotiation Tips ... |
Salary Negotiation Tips - When it's time to negotiate salary changes, trust Career Journal to give you the best and most current career salary information. |
www.careerjournal.com |
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PON Clearinghouse |
Welcome to the Program on Negotiation Clearinghouse, a resource center for people interested in learning and teaching about negotiation and alternative ... |
www.pon.org |
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:: Negotiations Affairs Department :: |
Information on the issues, history, developments and positions regarding Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations. |
www.nad-plo.org |
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