The Best Business Negotiation Skills You Need to Secure High-Value Customers

The economic depression means that there’s a dire and often urgent need to acquire more high-value customers. Yet businesses face a headwind of higher customer acquisition costs. Since high-value customers are engaged, usually brand loyal, and often spend more than your average customer, these customers should contribute more to your bottom line.

It takes time, effort, and persistence to secure high-value customers. However, companies who know how to nurture customers could achieve impressive performance. According to the best negotiating courses, the following points can help you secure high-value customers.

Understand the customer’s pain points

Attracting a high-value customer is much easier when you understand their pain points. A pain point is a specific issue that has become persistent or recurring. When you know your customers’ issues, you can better position your product or service as a solution to their problems. Remember, the need for a solution is what prompts a customer to buy a product or service.

To find customer pain points, negotiation courses recommend asking probing questions. It also pays to put time into conducting research. Here’s why. Some prospects may have an idea of the problem but struggle to explain the problem well. Other prospects may not understand the true nature of their issue.

When you conduct your own research, you can avoid valuable information falling through the cracks. With all the facts in hand, you can present a cohesive solution that addresses the pain points.

Be well prepared

High-value customers know their worth and expect more for their dollar and their time. As such, you are unlikely to secure business with a run-of-the-mill strategy.

Preparation allows you to clearly express the value of your products or services. You’re also more likely to come across as confident when you rehearse your pitch ahead of time. Confidence can have a positive impact on the outcome of your conversation.

All negotiators come to the table with a set of interests. Often, the most successful conversations are those where people can achieve a meeting of the minds. The best time to think about how to create mutual gain is before the meeting, when you can prepare your strategy.

Effective communication

Knowing how to communicate can make or break a negotiation. When you struggle to express your message, you may find it difficult to build relationships. Building relationships is key to learning your customers’ needs. Remember, the better your offering meets the needs of your most valuable customers, the more your business can grow.

Effective communication involves strong speaking and listening skills. As Peter Drucker, a world-famous business management consultant, said: “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.” Strong listening skills help improve customer loyalty, which in turn often boosts customer retention. Retaining high-value customers helps increase revenue.

Establish your credibility

Would you spend money with a company that doesn’t stick to their promises? How about a company that lacks knowledge and resources? You would be hard-pressed to find customers who would agree – especially high-value ones. For this reason, negotiating courses stress the importance of being credible.

High-value customers tend to be more loyal to their brands. However, discerning customers can also be quite critical. So, to earn loyalty, businesses need to be able to walk the talk. One way to show that you’re credible is to support your discussions with well-researched facts.

Taking a negotiation course

In a competitive marketplace, negotiation skills are necessary to stand out and find creative ways to get more wins. contributions of high-value customers can play a powerful role in the success of your business. Persuasion is key to securing business from your “high rollers” or “big spenders.” So, it makes sense to perfect your negotiation skills.

Taking a negotiating course can teach you effective persuasion tactics and strategies. Use what you learn to create and maximize value for valuable customers. Customers want to feel wanted and valued – typically more so if they are big spenders.

Today’s customers have many options. If customers are not satisfied with your approach, there’s often no hesitation in going elsewhere. So, make every contact count.