Angie O'Grady: Pie Slicing

When you start negotiating terms, you’ve reached a critical point in the sale. And you could really screw up big time. Unless you know how to negotiate. Often your negotiation strategy will determine whether you close or walk away with nothing. If you remember one thing about negotiating, it should be this: an objection is a form of negotiation. An objection should not make you quiver like a bowl of jelly. Instead, when you hear an objection, step back, think in terms of give and take, and get into a negotiating frame of mind.

J.J. Parker manages a Navy sales team of six inside and six outside salespeople for ADS, which sells tactical gear and logistics solutions to the military and US law enforcement agencies. The firm distributes the products of thousands of vendors to customers. Sales range from small credit card purchases to multimillion-dollar contracts.

Negotiation is very important in this business. “In dealing with the government, we are bidding, not always on lowest price, but to provide best value to the customer,” Parker says. ADS has specialists and contract managers whose sole responsibility is seeing that products provide best value. The company has constant contact with soldiers in the field.

ADS must negotiate on the other side, as well, with the manufacturers whose products it represents for government contracts. “Many times we go in and recommend a better product based on customer requirements,” Parker explains. ADS teams work on manufacturer relationships, test equipment, and take it into the field to let troops try it under real-world conditions. “They give us valuable feedback that we can take back to the manufacturer.”

Negotiations with military customers and vendors can take a long time, especially on major contracts. ADS puts together professional teams to handle detailed negotiations with both manufacturers and government contracting offices. And ADS tries to maintain strong relationships with its customers and thus anticipate requirements.

Angie O’Grady is president and chief operating officer of Preferred Offices, which O’Grady calls “a hotel for businesses that need offices or conference rooms to rent by the hour, day, week, or month.” Preferred Offices (now Carr Workplaces) has eight locations in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area and is planning to expand its offerings outside the district. O’Grady has eight people on her sales team, plus a director of sales and marketing.

SELLING POWER MAGAZINE ARTICLE BY HENRY CANADAY

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Angie O'Grady

COOxist

Executive Leadership

Washington DC