I read a negotiation post on LinkedIn recently where the author claimed it’s not about you, or your fault, if a negotiation failed or was not successful. It could be due to some unknown need, not dealing with the decision maker, or not the right timing, just not you personally.
I might be ‘old school’, but it’s actually all about you; it is your job to uncover those needs, define the decision maker, and understand the customer’s buying cycle. The reality, they are not sharing this information with you, but they are with someone, the person who was successful.
Without developing some level of trust, people are not willing to open up about what they truly need or what motivates them. You might have the best product or service, and you will never get the business, because they will never tell you what they need, the decision maker, or their buying cycle.
Look first to develop some level of Trust, then ask questions and let the customer tell you all about what they need.