Marketing Magnetism = Sales Negotiation Power

You are in the best negotiating position with customers when your marketing generates “deal flow” which exceeds your capacity.

Have you ever taken one of those negotiating classes? Who has the most power in a negotiation? It’s the person who has the most options.

If your customer has more options than you, then he’s in charge. He can dictate the price and the terms of the deal. I’ve spent a fair amount of time doing deals in Detroit, and it’s ugly. There are ten potential suppliers and only one General Motors. The pricing is cut throat and everyone gets squeezed real hard.

You don’t want to be in that situation, and you don’t have to be. If your marketing system delivers good leads to you every day, you’re far less concerned about each deal than if you have to dig them up by hand. And that’s good, because a customer who senses you don’t need him is more likely to buy from you than if you have to beg.

An effective marketing system solves a number of very difficult business problems:

· You have enough “deal flow” that you can choose customers who match your capabilities, rather than taking whoever you can get.

· You have more negotiating power because you can safely “walk away from a deal.”

· Clients have more respect for you because you didn’t “chase them down.”

· You can anticipate variations in your available capacity and revenue stream and open up or tighten your sales funnel as necessary, rather than scrambling at the last minute.

· You don’t have to alter your manufacturing process or systems to accommodate customers whose needs don’t match your capabilities.

· Your time with customers is spent productively, because when they call you, they already understand exactly what you do, what’s unique about you and how you can help them.

· You are able to focus on the nuances of solving your customers’ problems and building personal relationships with them, rather than worrying about whether or not you can close a deal.

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