Phone Negotiations

Twenty years ago, when I first started in the world of international sales negotiations in business-to-business, it seemed that all of my colleagues would seize the slightest opportunity to jump on a plane.  This was always true for the men around me.   And not always true for the women.

Differences In Phone Skills

Women seemed to evaluate the whole negotiation process from a different point of view.  And this had nothing to do with children to look after.

I could say that women seemed to have a more balanced approach.  But I won’t.

Because…

What I really noticed was an apparent masculine need to immediately organize a face-to-face meeting and jump on a plane.

…a little bit like how men liked to control the television remote control in those days.

This does make me wonder whether women are better at carrying out negotiations over the phone or not.

When I was in international sales, I personally did not jump on the plane at every opportunity.  I enjoyed playing with all of the different steps in international sales negotiations.  And getting as much as I could out of each step.

Very early on I honed my telephone communication skills to include telephone negotiation skills.

But, I have to confess, I did have a head start.  I had already acquired a good level of cross-cultural communication skills by the time I started international sales negotiations.

Similarities With Face-To-Face Negotiations

Of course, just like face-to-face negotiations you need to be fully prepared.

This is critical for all cross-cultural negotiations.  If you wing it and get what you wanted out of the negotiation, you were lucky… or did not aim very high.

Keys To Good Phone Negotiations

One of the things I got very good at was interpreting what was not said.  And how things were said.  I actually enjoyed phone negotiations with international clients…

Because I concentrated fully on what was said, how it was said, and what was not said.

Another very important point is you need to identify the key points that will make your client sign.  If you do not get this right you will not get results over the phone.  And you will not have the time to maneuver out of any difficult spots.  In other words, you can easily blow it.

And, if you do blow it over the phone.  Don’t panic. Good strategy will get you out of the mess.

People have often turned to me to help them get out of these situations.  More on that in another article…

Advantages Of Phone

There was one very big advantage to sales negotiations done by phone…

It was easy to create solid international relationships.  There were less cultural differences to deal with and adjust to… this goes both ways.

As a woman, you need to adjust your communication for certain cultures to the fact that you are a woman.

When Phone Negotiations Are Suitable

Of course, phone negotiations can only go so far.

It is all about building relationships…

And there will always be times when you need face-to-face contact.

But there are many times I found it much more effective to take full advantage of the phone.

Phone negotiations produced faster signed contracts.  And I also got them faster than my male counterparts who could only schedule so many clients into their trips.

On two different occasions I had a backlog of qualified leads to follow up with, I cannot remember the number of leads involved - there were dozens and dozens if not over a hundred.

But I do remember the total value.

Over $10 million on each occasion.

Flying around to meet everyone was not physically possible.

So, what did I do?  Used the phone.

Six months later over 95% of the qualified leads were signed deals.  And the others followed before the end of the year…

All by phone.

Once you have had a face-to-face meeting you can usually follow up extensively by phone.

Not For Everyone

You need a combination of skills to get good at phone negotiations for international business-to-business sales:

• Cross-cultural communication skills
• The ability to build relationships over the phone
• Good sales and marketing preparation

Of course, just like many cross-cultural communication skills, you can learn much more if you have the opportunity to practice.

If you have good phone skills for your domestic market, it is well worth investing a little time to practice phone negotiations in international markets.

This is part of the…

Cross-Cultural Negotiation Business Guide

Cross-Cultural Negotiation Guide • Would you like an easy guide to keep you away from the big first time blunders? You will find this and more, here.

Guide 7 - Run With Your International Sales Strategy • Do you need help setting up your international sales strategy? • Do you want to know what to say to your foreign prospects to get the sale? Read about how to create your international sales strategy.

Cindy King is a Cross-Cultural Marketer and International Sales Specialist, with over 25 years field experience in international business development. Learn how you can get more international sales