Boosting Profitability in Sales: Mastering the Art of Negotiation – Video 11 of the New Year Motivation Series

Boosting Profitability in Sales: Mastering the Art of Negotiation – Video 11 of the New Year Motivation Series

As we dive into the New Year, it’s crucial for sales professionals, managers, and CEOs of small companies to reflect on one pivotal aspect of their sales strategy – the art of negotiation. I am committed to guiding you toward more profitable deals this New Year and beyond.

Evaluating Past Deal Profitability

Take a moment to review your deals from the previous year. Were they as profitable as they could have been? The ease of offering discounts can often overshadow the challenge of selling at list price. However, your company’s profit model heavily relies on effective negotiation.

Look back at your past deals. Pinpoint the aspects where negotiations fell short. Set a clear goal for this year to avoid repeating these mistakes. Improvement begins with recognizing what didn’t work well in the past.

Embracing Continuous Learning in Negotiation

As I’ve emphasized in a previous video, continuous learning is crucial. This is particularly true in negotiation. A slight improvement in your negotiation skills can significantly impact your bottom line. Consider attending a class, webinar, or consulting with an expert to hone this skill.

If negotiation is not your forte, reach out for assistance. I’m here to offer suggestions, recommend training resources, or even provide personal training to help you negotiate more effectively.

Preparing for Negotiations Proactively

Prepare a list of items you can afford to discount and those you cannot. Develop scripts and strategies for common negotiation scenarios. This preparation will help you remain steadfast during negotiations, ensuring you don’t make concessions on a whim.

Identify services or add-ons you can offer during negotiations that provide value to your client but don’t significantly impact your costs. This strategy can be a game-changer in making your proposals more attractive while maintaining profitability.

This is the year to enhance your negotiation tactics. By doing so, you’re not just closing deals; you’re maximizing the value and profitability of each transaction. Remember, effective negotiation is not about conceding profits but finding a mutually beneficial ground where your company’s value is rightly recognized and compensated.

Happy New Year, and here’s to your profitability and success in the New Year!

Check out my video below (the final video in this year’s series to start the New Year with confidence and capability).

Elevating Your Sales Game in the New Year: The Essential Guide to Social Selling – Video 8 of the New Year Motivation Series

Elevating Your Sales Game in the New Year: The Essential Guide to Social Selling – Video 8 of the New Year Motivation Series

Understanding and leveraging social selling has become more crucial in a business landscape where digital presence can make or break your sales success. I guide salespeople, sales managers, and CEOs of small companies through the intricacies of social selling to ensure a solid start to the New Year.

Crafting Your Digital Persona

Your online profile, especially on LinkedIn, is often your first impression of a potential client. Is your profile projecting you as a job seeker, or does it establish you as an industry leader and expert? Updating your social media profiles to reflect your professional expertise and the value you bring to your clients is a crucial step.

Consistently sharing relevant industry content is not just about staying active online; it’s about positioning yourself as a knowledgeable and engaged leader in your field. This could be anything from exciting news articles to insightful blog posts that align with your industry and the solutions your company offers.

Engaging with Prospects on Social Platforms

While direct outreach is valuable, the real power of social selling lies in the research and insight phase. When you find a potential client on a platform like LinkedIn, engage with them by sharing content that resonates with their needs or challenges. It’s about building a connection and demonstrating value before the first sales conversation begins.

Setting Goals for Social Media Interaction

Commit to a regular posting and interaction schedule on your chosen social media platform. Aim to publish new, thoughtful content weekly, and make sure to engage with your network. This consistent presence ensures prospects find an industry professional actively contributing to the industry conversation when they research you.

Are you aware of your Social Selling Index (SSI) on LinkedIn? It’s a valuable metric that helps you gauge your effectiveness in social selling. Set goals to improve your SSI by being more active and engaging and providing value through your posts and interactions.

Attend virtual industry events and webinars. This broadens your knowledge and increases your visibility among peers and potential clients. Aim for at least one event per month to maintain a consistent presence.

In this New Year, your ability to harness the power of social selling can significantly impact your sales results. It’s not just about being present online; it’s about strategically building your digital persona to attract and engage with the right prospects.

For more insights on effectively using social selling to boost your revenue, check out my video series with the latest installment below. Let’s make this year a milestone in your sales journey.

Happy selling, and best wishes for a prosperous year ahead!

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – Special Episode: CEO Workshop – Avoiding B2B Sales Mistakes That Are Limiting Revenue Growth – Episode 57

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – Special Episode: CEO Workshop – Avoiding B2B Sales Mistakes That Are Limiting Revenue Growth – Episode 57

Welcome to a special episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosted by seasoned sales professionals Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey. Today’s episode is a goldmine for small business owners, consultants, and sales teams looking to scale and outperform their competition. 

This is the audio version of a CEO Workshop recorded on LinkedIn on October 19. You can watch the entire webinar (along with the slides) by going to 

Sean O’Shaughnessy and Kevin Lawson have decided to release these workshops as podcast episodes. The topic of this episode is Avoiding B2B Sales Mistakes that Limit Growth.

Kevin explains the importance of avoiding mistakes and continuously refining sales strategies and skills. He also discusses businesses’ challenges, such as rising costs and limited resources. Inflation, the Consumer Price Index, and labor costs impact business owners. Kevin advises businesses to adjust their prices accordingly to maintain margins. He emphasizes the need for strategic and tactical management to overcome market factors that affect business outcomes. The goal is to increase the value of the business for future saleability.

Kevin also discusses the importance of being strategic and tactical in business. He emphasizes the need to be organized, focused, and create relevant content. Salespeople should also think like marketers to attract customers.

Kevin then discusses responding to RFPs (Request for Proposals) and suggests that businesses should decide whether or not to respond based on their industry and goals. He highlights the low success rate of RFPs and encourages evaluating if it’s worth investing time in them.

The next topic is Sales Playbooks, which are comprehensive documents that help train sales teams by outlining best practices and providing guidance on client communication. Kevin explains the benefits of having a Sales Playbook but acknowledges that many businesses may not have one or have had lackluster results with them. Finally, Kevin suggests documenting a typical sales process as a foundational step toward creating an effective Sales Playbook.

CEO Workshop: Drive Revenue During A Crisis

CEO Workshop: Drive Revenue During A Crisis

The global pandemic has caused crisis after crisis to hit US companies. These crises include:

  • global supply chain problems affecting worldwide shipping
  • increased prices due to the shortage of components or subassemblies
  • labor shortages

To assist our clients, Sean O’Shaughnessey and Kevin Lawson teamed up to create the following webinar. The webinar originally aired on January 13, 2022.

The following is a transcript of the webinar video above. It has been sparsely edited to increase its readability, but many of the idioms and poor spoken grammar have been left in place. The transcription was automatically generated by Sonix.ai and, as capable as that product is, there are times when words are missed or sentence structure was incorrectly interpreted. We have tried to catch all of these software misses, but we are confident that some still remain. The below text is provided for those that would rather read than watch a video.

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