Why negotiate on value?

I recently ran a four-day negotiating skills conference in Australia for a group of senior marketing managers and representatives; the group were highly motivated. They were working in an interesting market, and they were keen to find creative ways to negotiate. The conference was as stimulating for me as it was for them.

During a break, one of the participants approached me “What you say is interesting,” he said, “but I have to ask something. Why do you bother to go on with a negotiation if the other side is stuck on price and won’t move?”

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki1 November 2019Negotiation, Creativity, ValueComment

Toughen up your people and do more

If many of your customers are “sitting on their hands”— citing Brexit and Trump and Iran and US-China trade war—then your sales are flat, or declining; you must downsize your costs or upsize your productivity. Upsizing your people’s productivity is easy to say, hard to do. It’s always been tough to do, but now many of your people face constant change and face constant stress. For example, imagine working in one of the big four banks urgently completing many recommendations of The Royal Commission.

Change, Business Problems, Gary PeacockGary Peacock1 October 2019Value, Resilience, ChangeComment

Quantify your value: use this checklist

What value does your product or service create for your customers? By value, we mean financial value. So, what financial value does your product create for your customers? Sometimes, when we ask our clients what financial value they create for their customers, clients get frustrated.

Are you just the same?

What if your salespeople tell you your customers don’t see any difference between you and your competitors? Well in our experience, this might be true but it’s unlikely. How can we say that?

Account Management, Business Problems, Gary PeacockGary Peacock3 September 2019Value, Value Proposition, Competitors, Competing on ValueComment

Are there Negotiation Archetypes, and why should I care?

Twenty years ago, one of the favourite words used by business gurus and keynote speakers at conferences was – a paradigm shift. Today you would think it is a button on a Tesla motor car. Now, a new hot word has appeared – archetype!

People ask at conferences or meetings are there negotiation archetypes? The answer is yes.

Negotiation Teams need a Vision!

I recently had the pleasure of being on a panel discussion in Australia on the impact of human intelligence (Hi) and artificial intelligence (Ai) and creating a competitive edge by combining both. The main question is always “where do we start”? Start with your strategic goals. Ai and Hi are most successful when you use them to solve a problem or leverage an opportunity. A key message was - technology is an enabler, but success depends on leader’s ability to use technology and people together.

Negotiators Need a Framework and Need to be Stress Tested

Some companies and industries are slowing down for their summer holidays and end of year celebrations. However, in other industries like the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, January is busy with training and planning for 2019. Last week, a manager asked, “How do teams prepare for negotiations with major accounts?”

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki10 December 2018negotiation, Simulation, Negotiation Framework, ValueComment

Don't lose your Budget: Invest in Insight

If your financial year finishes in December, ensure you spend your budget. In most organisations, if you don’t spend it, then you lose it. You lose it, but you still must deliver 2019 results. And 2019 starts in less than 40 days.

Do your KPIs prevent value creation?

Competition in the B2B world has never been fiercer. With more companies fighting over every contract, the sales teams are now laser-focused on the next sale and holding on to each customer, whatever it takes. How organisations measure their employees, and what behaviours they reward add to the laser-focus on short-term gains.

Account Management, SAM, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki3 September 2018KPIs, Value, Competition, Sustainable, Short-term, Long-term, B2B, Strategic RelationshipsComment

Customers you can't afford to lose: How will their Procurement department manage you?

Customers you can't afford to lose are those customers who supply a good portion of your revenue or profit. Or they can be customers who are growing faster than the rest of the marketplace. The thought of losing one of these customers scares you so much that you might feel tightness in your stomach.

5 Reasons Companies don't Quantify their Value

Todd Snelgrove now Founding Partner at Experts in Value, was previously the Global Vice President of Value for SKF. During his 20 plus years in the industry, he has identified five reasons why companies do not take the time and effort to quantify their value and equip their sales teams or account managers with the tools and techniques they need to discuss value with customers.

This extract is taken from The Creative Negotiator by Stephen Kozicki.

Why can’t you quantify and prove value?

Four Strategic Insights from Value-Based Healthcare

What insights did I get from attending last week’s Medical Technology Association of Australia’s (MTAA) summit on Value-Based Health Care?

Change, Gary Peacock, Account Management, SAMGary Peacock30 April 2018Strategy, Value, Healthcare, ChangeComment

Joint Customer Planning Creates Real Value

With the MTAA Value Summit quickly approaching and World Book Day next week, I thought I would share an extract from my successful book with Gary Peacock: Managing B2B customers you can’t afford to lose. This extract concentrates on creating value through joint partnerships.

Focus on Growth_Now! [Part 2]

Companies are spending more time on how to compete in competitive markets using value. Four factors give best companies a competitive edge that drives growth:

Intimately manage your top 10 – 20 key clients.
Identify and manage your exceptional & strategic suppliers.
Focus on your unique value proposition for your market – your competitive edge.
Align throughout the company around the top 3 factors, always— allocating resources, developing talent & managing operating costs— for growth.

In an earlier blog, we explained the first two factors that drive growth. In this blog, we will expand on factors 3 and 4.

Discounting is not the answer: Compete with value

Today's customers are intently focused on getting the lowest price. With advances in technology customers can compare products and prices before they speak to you. Increased competition is making price pressure more intense, with a race to the lowest price being the easiest way to win the deal. But, at what cost to your company?

Account Management, Gary PeacockGary Peacock16 March 2018Price Pressure, Value, Competitive Advantage, CompetitionComment

Focus on Growth - Now!

By Stephen Kozicki & Gary Peacock

Over the past three years, the world has changed dramatically, and forever from digital disruption, Brexit and Trump. Your industry and your top clients are feeling the stress as their markets change, fast. These fast changes mean that your business needs to be more agile in response to the market. For companies unprepared for these changes this means lower revenue and lower profits.

Our blogs are usually short and punchy to grab your attention. This blog is a little longer than usual because delivering growth is just too important and too urgent to reduce the ideas down to a page, so we have split it into two parts.

To Grow – Act Now!

Stop Competing on Price, Start Competing on Value

To be blunt, for customers usually, there are not many significant differences between suppliers. Occasionally, you have a special product or service that no-one else has because it's protected by patent or special knowledge. Even then, the advantage lasts for a limited time. So, most of your time you compete with similar products and services.

So what?

Account Management, Gary PeacockGary Peacock25 January 2018Competition, Value, Price Pressure, Commoditisation, PriceComment

How does Leadership affect Negotiation Outcomes in your Organisation?

Whether you are negotiating on the sell-side with your best accounts or negotiating with key and strategic suppliers, the leadership team needs to be clear on how suppliers can create value that flows through to your best accounts.

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki11 September 2017Negotiation, Leadership, Value, Procurement, CollaborationComment

Is Your Company Creative Enough to Survive Disruption?

The issue of creativity will determine whether or not your company will survive or become a statistic. Trying to create an environment that is conducive to creativity, both for yourself and your teams will ultimately become a top priority for your company. How can your team become more creative?

Why do we never have any fresh ideas? [Innovation]

Many managers say their meetings don't work, and get frustrated with wasting hours trying to solve problems and choose solutions, without generating any fresh ideas.

What if there was a process that could you help you with this?