In the session for January, Tim Jackson, the CEO of the Accelerator Centre, presented on sales negotiation strategy. Tim has had a remarkable career leading many fast growing organizations including First Service, PixStream, and the Tech Capital Partners portfolio of companies. I always find the retelling of the PixStream story fascinating. It grew quickly and was sold to Cisco for $550 Million and was closed down six months later as the tech bubble burst.
I was not as aware of Tim’s time at First Service and this portion of his presentation yielded the most applicable information for B2B Sales Negotiations. Some of the highlights included:
Understand Your Target
Do research before and be well prepared for meetings and proposals. Tim reflected on one of his acquisition targets that was from a rural community outside of London. Wearing a golf shirt and going for some wings put the prospect more at ease than a suit and tie and fancy restaurant.
Don’t Assume
Tim had a coworker that was somewhat of a moron. Some ill advised words about an owner being pregnant when she wasn’t nearly cost them the deal.
Take Advantage of Opportunities
Tim had come up with some competitive intelligence on a sensitive negotiation and he was able to use it to strengthen his negotiation stance.
Ask Questions
One of his negotiations involved a party that was stuck on a certain price that was significantly higher than First Service was prepared to go. They were able to ask questions and understand the other party’s goals around an after tax amount in the bank after the transaction. Once this was understood, they were able to meet both parties goals.
Be Creative
Look for solutions that help both parties reach their goals.
This past week I attended the monthly Peer2Peer Senior Sales Strategy session at Communitech. This is one of my favourite regular events. If you are a technology company in the Kitchener/Waterloo Region I would recommend you look into joining. The February event is scheduled for the 15th and focuses on understanding a target companies finances as part of the sales cycle.
