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Sarah Talley’s Key Negotiation Principles
- When you have a problem, when there’s something you engage in with Wal-Mart that requires agreement so that it becomes a negotiation, the first advice is to think in partnership terms, really focus on a common goal, of getting costs out, for example, and ask questions. Don’t make demands or statements…you know, can we do this better and so forth. If the relationship with Wal-Mart is truly a partnership, negotiating to resolve differences should not endanger the tenor of the partnership.
- Don’t spend time griping. Be problem solvers instead. Approach Wal-Mart by saying, “Let’s work together and drive costs down and produce it so much cheaper you don’t have to replace me, because if you work with me I could do it better.”
- Sequence and lobby fairly carefully with people who’ve got some credibility, those who they listen to, people in the field who themselves are having problems.
- Don’t ignore small issues or let things fester.
- Do not let Wal-Mart become more than 20 percent of your company’s business. It’s hard to negotiate with a company that controls yours.
- Never go into a meeting without a clear agenda. Make good use of the buyers’ face time. Leave with answers. Don’t make small talk. Get to the point; their time is valuable. Bring underlying issues to the surface. Attack them head on and find resolution face to face.
- Trying to bluff Wal-Mart is never a good idea. There is always someone willing to do it cheaper to gain the business. You have to treat the relationship as a marriage. Communication and compromise is key.
- Don’t take for granted that just because the buyer is young they don’t know what they are talking about or that it will be an easy sell. Most young buyers are very ambitious to move up within the company and can be some of the toughest, most educated buyers you will encounter. Know your product all the way from the production standpoint to the end use. Chances are your buyer does, and will expect you to be even more knowledgeable.
