CFO
Achieve financial objectives through enhanced sales negotiation
The importance of sales negotiation for CFOs
As Chief Financial Officer, you often need to go beyond the direct aspects of your role, such as financial management and strategic planning, to achieve your objectives through indirect means. And one critically important lever is the sales team’s ability to negotiate.
In our recent survey on Sales Negotiation, 51% of respondents said that improving their team’s negotiation skills could increase average prices by more than 5%.
If your business has, say, a 10% operating margin, and 50% of your revenue is up for negotiation each year, poor sales negotiation could easily be costing up to a quarter of your profits.
Even as we start to win the battle against inflation, there are opportunities to improve pricing in every new deal and renewal, as well as through proactive renegotiation of low‑margin accounts.
Equally, inadequate negotiation skills around payment terms and product/service mix have a direct impact on working capital and therefore on the cash you have available to invest in the business, reduce over-priced debt, or return to shareholders.
Procurement teams have been investing heavily in their skills (we know this because we train them too!). Can your teams deal with highly effective tactics such as nibbling, reopening, and the (dreaded) Best of the Best Pricing strategy?
Our modular Negotiating Client Value (NCV) training course is available in multiple formats, on a global basis. It includes AI-powered negotiation tools that sit natively within your CRM, to provide support for managers and salespeople alike, as they work to win business and optimise margin.
Recent client results
PIPELINE
+£1m avg. increase across accounts from enhanced negotiation skills
TIME TO CLOSE
Reduced the average time to close by 2 weeks
PRICE INCREASES
235 price increases achieved on deals worth a total of £72m
DISCOUNT
31% of sellers
reduced the amount of discount offered
After being in this industry for eight years and attending various negotiation training courses, I can honestly say this one has been the most beneficial, powerful, and certainly the most enjoyable.
Account Director, Professional Services
Experience working with finance teams
In this video testimonial, Jonas Olsson, Former Chief Purchase Officer and consultant in procurement, explains his experience working with finance teams within large organisations and exactly why he recommends Imparta.
What next?
To start exploring how Imparta can support you in achieving your objectives as CFO and discuss some of our recent work with others in your industry, please contact us to schedule a time for one of our dedicated Client Directors to connect with you alongside your sales leadership team.
Alternatively, you may wish to share some further details with your team internally. Here are some assets that you may find useful:
- Imparta’s FAST framework
- Imparta’s 3D Negotiating Client ValueTM Programme page
- The 3D Sales Negotiating Styles Self-Assessment to discover what type of negotiation style your sales team has.
- Sales Negotiations: How to Win in 2023 webinar recording, hosted by Richard Barkey, Imparta Founder and CEO.