Are You Selling or Negotiating? Unlocking Value with Steph Green
We’re diving into a crucial distinction that can transform your commercial approach, drawing insights from our speaker Steph Green. With 28 years of invaluable experience in consumer goods and retail, holding leadership roles at giants like Gymshark, Aldi UK, and Müller Dairy, and commercial roles at PepsiCo, Reebok, and Adidas, Steph brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. As Chief Commercial Officer at Gymshark, she led a commercial transformation that delivered record sales growth, from £23m in 2016 to over £100m in 2018. Now leading sales at Total Negotiation Group, Steph is dedicated to helping global brands elevate their commercial strategy, negotiation skills, and revenue growth.
For her talk at Selling South, "Negotiating for Global Brands," Steph will highlight a common pitfall: the tendency to merge selling and negotiating.
"One of the first things that you've got to be clear on is are you selling or are you negotiating because we often merge the two," Steph explains. She recounts running a sales training session where participants frequently interchanged the terms, leading her to clarify, "We're not negotiating right now. We're still selling".
At Total Negotiation Group, where Steph now leads sales, they are "very very clear that selling and negotiating are two distinct processes". The ideal approach, she stresses, is to "sell first and then we would negotiate".
The Supermarket Analogy: When Selling is So Good, You Don't Need to Negotiate
Imagine visiting a supermarket. You pick up an item, see the price, accept it, and the deal is done. Steph uses this perfect scenario to illustrate the power of brilliant selling: "If you do a brilliant job of selling... you don't need to negotiate because here's the thing: This is the price, I accept the price. There you go. Deal done". Her message is clear: "If I can sell really well I should need to negotiate less".
However, Steph pragmatically acknowledges that in the majority of commercial conversations, negotiation often becomes a necessary next step.
Maximising Value: What Can You Negotiate?
This brings us to a critical point for any salesperson: "what can they negotiate and what can't they negotiate?". Once this is clear, the focus shifts to strategic thinking: "how can I generate the most value from those things so how do I really leverage them for me to get more?".
This isn't about endless concessions, "I'm giving stuff away cuz you know that's just haggling or playing number wang with somebody," Steph asserts. Instead, it's about a reciprocal process: "how am I going to ensure that when I start to trade these things that I'm getting something out of this as well?".
The cornerstone of this approach? Preparation and planning. "It’s really about taking some time to really prepare and plan for negotiations," Steph concludes.
Steph Green, who is also passionate about advancing women in the CPG industry and has led industry-wide research on “The Peter Problem,” truly underscores the importance of a clear, structured approach to commercial interactions. By understanding the distinct roles of selling and negotiating, and meticulously planning your negotiation strategy, you can move beyond mere haggling to truly generate and leverage value for your organisation.
Don't miss the opportunity to hear directly from Steph at Selling South on Friday, 3rd October.
