How do you negotiate with multiple stakeholders or influencers in a pre-sales deal?

Identifying the key players is more than just collecting the titles of people in an organization. Different titles may be associated with different roles and responsibilities in different organizations.

LinkedIn is the best overall resource for research. Know how to change your pitch based on the buyer's persona. Technical Decision Makers (TDMs) need to map to your technical sales team. Business Decision Makers (BDMs) need to understand how your solution provides value to the identified organizational pain points. If presenting to a team of people, ask them to identify themselves, share their titles, and how they map to the project you are there to discuss. Try to identify the power in the room. Sometimes, it's the least vocal person. Also, leverage the individuals excited about what you bring to the table. Contact them offline and ask for candid feedback about your meetings and to coach how to remove internal objections to your solution.

In negotiating with multiple stakeholders or influencers in a pre-sales deal, it's crucial to identify key players. Start by understanding the decision-making hierarchy and pinpoint individuals with decision-making authority. Engage with influencers by addressing their specific concerns, showcasing relevant benefits, and customizing your pitch to align with their priorities. Foster relationships with decision-makers by demonstrating the value your product or service brings to their specific roles or departments. Maintain open communication and gather feedback to address any concerns promptly. Tailoring your approach to each stakeholder's needs and concerns builds consensus, increasing the likelihood of a successful pre-sales negotiation

Negotiating with multiple stakeholders or influencers in a pre-sales deal requires a strategic approach. Firstly, conduct thorough research to understand each stakeholder's priorities and concerns. Tailor your communication to resonate with their specific needs, demonstrating how your solution aligns with their goals. In meetings or presentations, address individual concerns to create a collective understanding. Foster open dialogue to uncover shared pain points and emphasize the benefits of your solution for the entire team.

Negotiating with multiple stakeholders demands a strategic approach. Identify key decision-makers and influencers, understanding their priorities. Tailor your messaging to address individual concerns. Foster open communication to align expectations and gather insights. Establish common ground by emphasizing shared benefits. Employ active listening to grasp diverse perspectives. Leverage compromise, seeking win-win solutions. Continual engagement ensures consensus-building and paves the way for successful pre-sales negotiations with multiple stakeholders.

What if you could master the art of influencing multiple stakeholders and close deals faster? Engage with Each Stakeholder: Reach out individually to understand their specific needs and concerns. Identify Key Influencers: Recognize who has the most impact on the decision-making process. Address Concerns: Tailor your approach to address the unique interests of each stakeholder. Communicate Value: Clearly articulate how the solution benefits each party involved. Build Consensus: Facilitate discussions to align stakeholders' interests and reach a common agreement. Maintain Transparency: Keep all parties informed of updates and changes to build trust and collaboration.

I've learned that a host of individuals inside an organization can say "no" to your solution, but only a few can say "yes." Find those with budget authority and executive visibility. Find a way to make them the "hero" of their organization for choosing your solution. A published case study benefits your organization and may boost the profile of the customer's individual project team leaders internally.

In negotiating with multiple stakeholders or influencers in a pre-sales deal, it's crucial to engage individually with each party to understand their specific needs and concerns. Tailor your communication to address their unique priorities and demonstrate how your solution meets their requirements. Foster relationships by actively listening, acknowledging their perspectives, and aligning your proposal with their goals. Collaborate openly, addressing potential objections or challenges, and emphasize the collective benefits for all stakeholders involved. By navigating each participant's interests and concerns, you build a consensus and increase the likelihood of a successful pre-sales negotiation

Listening is very important during the engaging process with the stakeholders or potential customers. Jumping into the solution/product proposing too quickly may miss important information.

Engage with each stakeholder individually using various communication methods like emails, calls, or demos based on their preferences. Tailor your message and value proposition to their role, goals, and personality. For example, focus on ROI for the economic buyer, functionality for the technical buyer, ease of use for the user buyer, benefits for the coach, and risks for the blocker. Use open-ended questions and active listening to understand their needs and concerns better. Demonstrate expertise through relevant information and evidence to build credibility and trust.

To negotiate with multiple stakeholders or influencers in a pre-sales deal, first, identify their priorities, concerns, and roles. Conduct separate discussions to understand individual needs, then align their interests to a common goal. Share tailored value propositions that address each stakeholder's specific pain points, demonstrating how your solution benefits all parties involved. Foster open communication, encourage collaboration, and address any conflicting interests to create a consensus. Establish clear decision-making criteria and timelines to streamline the process. Regularly update stakeholders on progress and adapt your approach based on evolving dynamics.

During this process, sharing similar success stories may be helpful. Because those relevant case studies can be a persuasive evidence to support the value proposition of the product or solution.

Aligning stakeholders around your solution can be challenging due to conflicting interests. Address gaps and misunderstandings, emphasizing common ground and shared value. Craft a vision statement and business case, organize collaborative workshops, or leverage influential coaches. Monitor stakeholder progress and satisfaction, adjusting your strategy accordingly.

I prefer using a digital proposal to talk through. List out the problems you are solving. Articulate and quantify the value of your solution--which will help you sustain pricing. Ask the customer to walk you through the purchasing process. How long should it take? Which departments need to sign off? Ask if there's anything you should know about the procurement individuals. This can help you shape your messaging to each person and department in terms of what matters most to them at this point in the process. Advanced preparation is the key to positive outcomes.

The final step is to negotiate and close the deal. Prepare a strategy based on research, analysis, and feedback. Prioritize value over price and maintain flexibility without appearing desperate. Use silence strategically and seek clear commitments from stakeholders. Don't assume agreement; confirm next steps and actions. Following these steps improves negotiation success in pre-sales deals.

We should acknowledge that there is no single decision maker in an organisation and hence , as sales, we can (should) organize ourselves as a team with each participating member mapping to the stakeholder matrix on Customer side. Needed skills and expertise will enable us understand better, strategize better and thus sell better!!!

Pre-sales requires a range of skills. It’s about what the potential customer needs instead of what to sell. Having the patience to gather enough information and fully understand the situation can lead to the success.

May I suggest the topic of ensuring you represent a quality company with a quality product and a good value proposition? Particularly if convincing multiple stakeholders. No used car salesman (approach) is going to be effective. You better have an automotive brand that sits at the top of the quality charts. If however, you find yourself at a company with something less than the best (or highest price)… strongly consider starting initiatives that begin to address pain points that have spread by word on the street, for example. Can the support aspect be improved? Can RMAs be turned around more quickly? Can the quality teams enhance their effectiveness? Sharing that these are underway can be helpful in address some of their concerns. ??♂?

Give a vision and show the outcomes the project is to achieve. And where possible a timeline. Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." The security industry specifically has too many people deep in the weeds not thinking long term looking to buy fire and forget solutions.