Negotiation Questions are extremely strategic
and important. One must remember that one is in the battle field
with adversary too being reasonably well armed.
In negotiation,
persuading suppliers requires you to earn their respect.
Confidence is key to earning
this respect. But your confidence
can be shaken by being surprised by suppliers' negotiation
questions. Prepare for these supplier questions to avoid threats
to your confidence.
Question #1: "Are you going to
negotiate and give chances to all or just accept the lowest
bid?"
Suppliers ask this prior to sending proposals so they
know whether to offer their true best deal or a
"padded" price to be negotiated lower later. Question
#1 is
tricky. You
naturally want suppliers to offer their best deal, yet
stating an intent to negotiate will keep you from getting
the best deal right away. But saying you won't negotiate and
later negotiating is dishonest and unethical.
So respond
with something like: "It depends. We reserve the right to
negotiate. But if it's clear that we've been offered the
best possible deal, we may accept that proposal without
negotiating.
I encourage you to submit your most competitive offer to maximize your chances of being considered."
Question #2: "Are you the sole
decision-maker on behalf of your company?"
Suppliers hate wasting their time negotiating with someone
who doesn't make the final decision. They fear that their
selling points will be lost, their work wasted.
So they
often circumvent the purchasing process, avoiding the buyer
and contacting an executive directly. This sales practice is
unfair to the buyer, unfair to other suppliers, and can
result in not-fully-informed decisions.
As such, you should
pre-empt this sales behavior and definitely not reward it. A good
response to Question #2 is something like: "We make
decisions as a team. However, I'm your point of contact. All
discussions about this project must be coordinated through
me."
Questions #3 :
"How does my
proposal look? and So if I improve this aspect of my proposal,
do we have a firm deal?"
Suppliers normally ask this question before you select the
successful bidder. A buyer's usual response cites one
unacceptable aspect of the supplier's proposal such as "Your
price is too high," which invites the next question.
If you
answer before completing your proposal review, it can put
you in an uncomfortable position. Saying "no"
creates several negative impressions: that you aren't the
decision-maker, that you've unethically pre-selected the
successful bidder, and that you're bluffing about an
acceptable proposal aspect.
Such impressions
can diminish the supplier's respect that you need to be
persuasive. So don't provide feedback on a supplier's proposal
and allow the next question to be asked until you're ready to
negotiate. Simply answer the first question with something like
"Our proposal review process is not yet complete, so I can't
fairly answer your question."
