Negotiation without rate-breaking; polishing sales skills puts an end to the 'rubber rate card.'

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, August, 1989 by Margaret Hunter

Negotiation without rate-breaking

New York City--Magazines are in "the rubber rate card business" because sales people don't know how to negotiate, according to Kathy Aaronson, a sales training consultant.

"You shouldn't have to come back to the office and say, 'They'll only go in if we give them a discount,'" she said, speaking to a group of 60 ad salespeople attending a recent Magazine Publishing Congress. "That happens because of your poor negotiating skills."

Publishers, said Bill Myers, publisher of Money, must reward those who "can negotiate a better deal on positioning, packaging, rates, merchandising--whatever. Right now, they don't know how."

Negotiation, speakers agree, is not a sign of weakness. The good news is that as soon as a prospect begins to negotiate, it signals that he or she is interested in buying space, said Aaronson, executive director of The Sales Athlete Inc., Beverly Hills, California.

"When they get a little frothy [aggressive]," she said, "I love it." Conversely, most salespeople feel frustrated when a client signals for negotiation with a comment such as, "Your competition gave me a discount. What can you do for me?"

At that point, Aaronson suggested, sales reps should take a deep breath, collect their thoughts, and compliment the client with a comment such as, "Ah, I see you are an excellent negotiator." The conversation can then be turned into a process of discovering the client's perceptions about the publication and the competition: "Tell me, what is it that you like about my magazine that you're interested in a discount?"

The idea, she noted, is to gain as much information as possible and reveal as little as possible. "Ask a lot of questions and don't step on their answers."

The third and final stage of negotiation has several parts: the salesperson must make his or her own display of dominance, then move toward compromise, cooperation and partnering. One useful comment for moving toward the latter: "What you suggested is not negotiable, but let me tell you what is." The salesperson can then describe value-added programs available.

The result of successful negotiations should be that both parties feel satisfied and ready to work together, not against each other, Aaronson said.

Finally, she added, sales reps should annually attend seminars on negotiating skills. Another resource is the book Getting to Yes, the Art of Negotiating, by Fisher-Urie of the Harvard Negotiating Project.