Niche Marketing Matters

Talk about a high-class problem. You have delivered a specialized solution in a niche market while doing all the right things. What happens? You land an elephant for a customer who has an insatiable appetite for your product or service. By comparison, your other customers look like mice. You hate to admit it, but this customer has incredible influence over your day-to-day decisions, as well as your long term plans for the firm. Secretly, you live in fear that you might lose this giant customer overnight and find yourself out of business.

This is hard one for a small firm. I have seen many small firms prisoner to the revenue stream from one key customer. The reliance on a huge customer can impact the small firm’s cash flow and control its day-to-day decisions, if not its destiny. If the big customer does not pay its bills on time, the firm can struggle to make payroll. When the big customer becomes too dominant, it can direct the day-to-day scheduling of activity, which might sacrifice the needs of other customers. At some point, the small business seemingly has no control over its destiny since the big customer is calling all the shots.

A general rule of thumb is that no one customer should account for more than 25 % of your sales. If a large customer abruptly drops you, you can still right-size your operation until you can find other sources of revenue. Even 25% makes me shudder, but in most cases, you can still adjust to the loss of this dominant customer. It will hurt, but the firm could still survive, presuming that you moved quickly enough.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2009 All rights reserved.

Unscrupulous negotiators will try almost anything to win in a negotiation including lying, throwing tantrums, and verbally abusing the other party. Why is winning so important to them?

It has long been thought that mean people such as this are just cold, detached, and unemotional—we have thought that they did not understand the damage that they can do to others. A recent study about “aggressive conduct disorder” at the University of Chicago confirmed that bullies actually enjoy the discomfort or pain that they inflict on others.

Rooted in this desire to hurt others is a deep-set feeling of inferiority from a lack of love and affection in childhood. Thus, bullies are punishing others for the love that they did not receive.

Unscrupulous negotiators are bullies who must win at all costs. They don’t care about the interests of the other party, nor do they value relationships since their needs trump everything else. They learn that aggressive behaviors help them get what they want; surprised by the aggression, many people back down and let the bully win.

And this is how you can beat the bully at his or her game. Stand firm and call them out. Let them know that the tactic is plainly visible and that you won’t stand for it. Unaccustomed to the challenge, the aggressive negotiator will invariably back down.

When confronting an aggressive negotiator, document everything and hold him or her to their commitment. If you don’t stand firm, you may not get what you negotiated. Don’t expect to have a long term relationship with this type person. Do business and move on.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

As many of you know, I am writing a book on negotiation which leverages my work as a trainer and lecturer in negotiation, along with my personal experiences in negotiation. It is a fascinating subject which seems easy on the surface, but is very difficult to practice.

The other day in my consulting practice I confronted an unethical negotiator. After much discussion I had secured an agreement in principle with the owner of a small business. Something was a little odd about the interaction, but I ignored my intuition. It was a small project and it was really going to be more of a favor on my part since the opportunity came to me on a referral from a good friend. I also knew that I could be a big help to this small firm—it was obvious that the business owner needed my assistance.

After we had structured an agreement, the other party decided to reopen the discussion in an attempt to amend the terms in his favor. Honestly, this caught me by surprise since I had already rearranged my schedule and had started to gather the appropriate resources to begin the project.

This was my mistake since I had ignored my intuition and had presumed that he would play fair. Instead, my client figured he could improve the deal at the last minute by haggling and playing tough with me.

I calmly responded that I would not agree to this tactic and that I would need to stick with the terms originally negotiated. He became angry and walked on the project. He basically told me I was an idiot not to play ball with him. I offered him my best wishes.

What my almost client did not understand is that I will not do business with unethical people. End of story. Life is short and I see no reason to spend my valuable time with people who cannot keep their word. While it may be true that I may miss out on a project now and then because of this conviction, I do sleep well at night.

In retrospect, I probably should have listened to my internal compass in the first place and declined to bid the job. Also, I should have reconfirmed the agreement a second time with him to insure that everything was acceptable. Was this last minute nibbling request totally unreasonable? Not really, but it was the manner in which he pursued it. It was audacious, rude, and unethical.

I feel great about this outcome. As my old boss used to say, “Not everyone gets the honor of being our customer”.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

My recent blogs about using questions as a selling tool got many comments from readers who sell to senior executives. I was reminded about how busy C-level execs are these days and how intolerant they are of “discovery” sales calls.

C-level executives (i.e., CEO, CMO, CIO, etc.) need a different sales approach. Gone are the days when the sales rep could have “question and answer time” with the C-level executive to better understand “pains” and key initiatives. Today, this senior-level buyer has no time for such idle banter. The phone is ringing, the Blackberry is vibrating, and the in-box is bulging with unanswered e-mails. Instead, these senior buyers expect you to come in with answers rather than questions.

Therefore, you have to adjust your sales approach. Sometimes you only get one shot with this character, so you have to be prepared. This necessitates that you thoroughly research the customer prior to discussing business. This means scouring the website, the SEC documents (if the firm is public), and calling others in the firm to learn about the real issues at play.

Anyone at the firm can be a source of useful information. The best people to talk with may be the C-level executive’s direct reports. Call them and confide in them that you are meeting the “big guy” in two weeks and that you are trying to figure things out. What are his hot points? What do they recommend that you do to prepare? Who else should you talk to before the meeting? Some of these people actually will actually coach you on how to proceed. It can be that easy.

When you actually get together with the C-level executive, the meeting becomes a forum for you to demonstrate your knowledge of the firm and of the executive’s key issues; you need to provide value to have any chance of continuing the conversation. This will pave the way for a constructive conversation and help move the sale along. This approach is time-consuming, but worth it when selling products or services that require you to call on top executives.

C-level executives are tough to get in front of, but once they get convinced to do business with you, they like to take over the sales process. This is called “transferring ownership” and it is a wonderful thing. It is a magic moment in selling when your customer joins you in the sales process while taking responsibility for the sales itself.

For whatever reason, the customer now owns the sale along with you; the value has been demonstrated to such an extent that the customer takes over and makes it happen. Objections are resolved and the questions have been answered. When the C-level executive has accepted the ownership of the sales process, let him take control; victory is at hand.

The good news: C-level executives want to be sold solutions with value that will help their firm win.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

P. S. Thanks to my brother Ross who reminded me what it is like to sell to C-Level execs.

Good negotiators are prepared. It first begins with knowing what you want. Additionally, good negotiators anticipate the wants and needs of the other party.

You need to ask yourself a few basic questions:

1. What do you wish for?
2. What do you deserve?
3. What must you have?
4. When might you walk away from the negotiation?

Next, you need to anticipate the wants and needs of the other party:

1. What do they wish for?
2. What do they deserve?
3. What must they have?
4. When might they walk away from the negotiation?

These questions help you define your objectives in the negotiation. Answering these questions will help you understand the other party’s objections.

You might want to consider the help of a third party to help you assess your knowledge of the other party’s wants and desires. We all have blind spots which can cause us to not see and hear properly. You will want to choose someone whom you respect for their insight and objectivity. I have found that most third parties will identify issues that you have overlooked.

Only after you know these answers can you negotiate well.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Customer service reps need to maintain their cool even when customers push all their buttons. Keeping cool is a matter of keeping your self control while helping customers get through their rants. Here are a few ideas on how to maintain your composure when the heat is on.

Be sure to breath. Silly as it sounds, make sure that you are breathing and sending enough oxygen to your brain. Monitor your breathing next time you are upset; I bet you are breathing shallowly or not at all. No wonder you get red faced.

Avoid sharing your anger in e-mails, voice messages, or notes. These messages may come off very heavy handed, yet when the same messages are delivered in-person with eye contact and body language they may appear constructive or helpful.

Consider the use of the expression “I understand”. This phrase will support your goals when the tension is high and when you need to find common ground to form compromises or agreements with the other party.

Monitor you own emotions. When you feel threatened, try not to defend yourself or to shut down when the other person is trying to communicate. The other person may have something that you need to hear (they might even be right!).

Try mirroring the other party’s words. Repeat the exact words that the customer is saying to you; this keeps you focused and helps demonstrate your openness. Say something like, “Let me see if heard you correctly. When I do this……”

When you feel like blowing your top or saying something you might regret, take a break. Put those feelings aside and deal with the issue later. You will be surprised how often the issue is minimized by doing this.

Throwing a fit in the workplace seldom does any good. More likely, people will not feel safe around you. You could be labeled as unpredictable and people will avoid you and your nasty behavior. Before long your reputation will impede you from getting things done.

Stay cool with hot-headed customers by managing your own emotions.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Bullies on the playground—you thought that you had left them behind in grade school along with bloody noses, homework, and the mean school principal. Yet, the same bully behavior can appear when you are confronted with an aggressive negotiator.

A bully is someone who is mean and attacks other people with words or actions. They use teasing, threats, or strength to scare or hurt someone. They often just take what they want. Bullying is a form of aggressive and harassing behavior. This antisocial behavior occurs across all geographic, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic segments of society. And kids who are bullies grow up to be adult bullies.

Aggressive negotiators get what they want because other people give in to their scare tactics. While some people are bullies by accident or they are not self-aware, the majority of aggressive negotiators just turn off their social controls to get what they want. They are self-centered and they have intense needs for attention; often they are aggressive because of intense feelings of inferiority or deprivation. They “get off” on the power of dominating someone else. It is fun to them.

The bully negotiator uses aggressive tactics such as emotion and anger; they overwhelm the other party with pressure and push the other party to give in to their demands. Often they will negotiate a deal and then balk at the last minute requesting a final concession; they rely upon the meekness of the other party. Bully negotiators threaten to take the business elsewhere or lie about competitive bids. In all cases, the bully does not value the relationship with you. They are will willingly forgo the chance to do business with you again so that they can get what they want now.

Surprisingly, aggressive negotiators are easily handled. In most cases, all you have to do is catch them at their game and point it out to them. This means that you need to be aware of and watching for their tactics; seldom is the bully subtle, so this is usually not a problem.

The harder part is stepping up and confronting the behavior. Most often it is as simple as saying something like, “Give me a break. You don’t expect me to fall for that do you?” Or, you can be more subtle and say, “Excuse me, can you repeat that? I must have not heard you correctly.”

The typical reaction when the bully is caught is to back off. Just pointing out the behavior is enough to stop the aggressive negotiator in his or her tracks. Don’t tolerate this behavior—no more bullies on the playground.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2007 All rights reserved.

Superior negotiators come in all genders, shapes, and sizes, but they tend to have a few things in common. Here is my list of the seven habits of superior negotiators:

1. A superior negotiator is always prepared. Abraham Lincoln said, “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my ax”. This is definitely the mindset of the superior negotiator. They think through the potential options ahead of time.
2. A great negotiator focuses on the interests of the other party. Rather than obsessing about what he or she wants, a great negotiator invests time in understanding what motivates the other party and why certain things are important to them.
3. He or she is willing to walk away. By knowing the bottom line of what is acceptable and by knowing the next best alternative, a strong negotiator is empowered. This takes the guess work out of the negotiation and focuses the agreement on what might be acceptable.
4. A great negotiator is open to new ideas and is willing to brainstorm on the spot with the other party to discover other options. Brainstorming involves some personal risk, but it makes for better agreements.
5. Listening skills are a prerequisite for an outstanding negotiator. This means not talking; in fact, outright silence is often a great choice.
6. Superior negotiators are realists. They are willing to compromise and they tend not be greedy or mean spirited since they want the opportunity to do business again. Relationships are valued.
7. They are willing to work to get the right deal and are exceedingly patient since a good deal takes hard work and time to create. This could mean multiple meetings or many phone calls.

Are you a superior negotiator?

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2007 All rights reserved.

When negotiating you will periodically encounter the “cry baby”, which is a negotiator who has learned that if they cry loud enough and long enough, he or she might get what they want. This behavior resembles a two year old screaming until you pick them up to shut them up. They scream because it works and so it goes for the negotiator who is cry baby. They do it because it works.

The behavior of the cry baby consists of yelling, swearing, and wild gesturing. It can include pounding on the table and jumping up and down. Once when I was a rookie sales rep in the semiconductor business, I had a buyer actually cry about the pricing I had offered; she said that her job was on the line and she had to have a lower price. If not, she was history. I gave in. The tears went away and I hardly got a thank you. In truth, I got my pocket picked. It was hard lesson for me at the time, but one that I learned.

On the other side of the table, the opposite party often feels embarrassed and awkward. The ranting makes the other party feel as if they have done something wrong which is what the cry baby wants. When this happens, you need to think like a parent who has a screaming two year old. Fight the impulse to pick the baby up. Instead, you need to stay cool and collected. One way to react to this situation is to ignore it. Alternatively, you can suggest a break in the meeting much like a “time out” for the two year old. Offer them a cool drink of water which might “cool them off” and stop the ranting.

Another time when I was a bit more seasoned as sales person, I had a buyer threaten to jump out the window of his high rise New York City office building if I could not meet his price demands. This time I politely said that I could not help him out. I actually wanted to say, “Go ahead and jump”. Guess what happened? He did not jump and I did get the order.

Another approach to this emotion packed situation, it is let the cry baby purge themselves of their rant. Calmly acknowledge their feelings and emotion with a statement like, “I can see you are pretty upset”. Then ask them to explain why they feel this way. This calm approach may allow them to be more specific about the issues below the surface. It could be that something simple and fixable might be the cause. In this case, the cry baby might have a legitimate issue to cry about.

When all else fails, give them a lollipop.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.

The flip-side of you dealing with your own fear of negotiation is dealing with the fear of the other party. Their fear and anxiety can be absolutely palpable. You can see if in their eyes. You can almost smell it.

If the other party is afraid and not thinking properly, you might have an advantage over them, but the likely outcome is that a lopsided deal will be struck and you will never do business with that person or firm again. An aggressive negotiator preys on this
type of opponent and delights in carving them to pieces, but, at what cost?

If you are left cut to ribbons by someone like this, what will you say to others? Most likely you will be a walking billboard warning everyone to avoid doing business with this aggressive character. Life is short and our reputation in business is our most critical asset. A moment of empathy on your part might significantly change the outcome and make it a mutually beneficial interaction rather than a one-sided slaughter.

This fear, if not dealt with properly, could stall or disable the negotiation. It could escalate into anger or other emotions which could be so disruptive that the meeting cannot continue. If that is the case, it is probably in your best interest to help the other party minimize their fear.

Here is what I suggest:

- Look for the fear in the other party. Symptoms could be nervous laughter, sweating, awkward hand movements, lack of eye contact, and detachment (like they are pretending they are somewhere else).
- Gently acknowledge their fear by asking if they are OK. Say something like “Is this hard for you?” Or, “Is this as hard for you as it is for me?”
- The key is to not embarrass them but let them know that it is OK to be fearful or nervous. You might offer, “I am a little nervous myself.”
- Offer them a cool drink. This is a nice gesture and might help them cool down (literally).
- Smile at that them and loosen up your tie or take your coat off. Help them feel at ease.
- Relax body language. Slump in the chair. Send a message that you are relaxed.
- Try warming them up with some small talk to let them acclimate themselves to the meeting.
- If they still are anxious, see if you can get them to talk about it. Verbalizing these fears might help them let go of their fears and allow the conversation to continue.
- A break in the action might also help them regroup; propose a ten minute break. A few minutes to let them compose might make the difference.
- If all else fails, propose to tackle this meeting another day.

More often that not, a little empathy from you will help the other party settle down and negotiate a better deal with you. Odds are that you will have also paved the way for future business with them.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2007 All rights reserved