Overview
Sales negotiation fails when salespeople concede on price as the first response to any pushback — signaling that the original price was inflated, training buyers that pushing produces discounts, and eroding margin without producing buyer commitment. Effective negotiation trades: the salesperson doesn't concede without receiving something in return, and every concession is designed to either reduce cost-to-serve (smaller scope, shorter contract, faster implementation) or secure a commitment that has strategic value (longer contract term, faster start date, reference permission).
The Sales Negotiation Framework builds a concession strategy that protects margin, trades rather than concedes, and uses the buyer's BATNA to determine how much leverage the salesperson actually has.