Trade-off

A trade-off turns a concession into an exchange. The customer asks for something, and you name what you need in return. A lower price for a longer contract. Faster delivery for payment up front. A free month for a decision by a set date.

The point is not to win every point. It is to keep the deal balanced, so the customer values what they got. Trade-offs happen at the proposal and decision stages. In a CRM, record them next to the concession: what we gave, what we got.

For example, the customer asks for a lower price. The seller agrees in return for a two-year contract and payment up front.

Before a decision-stage meeting, the seller prepares a short list with the head of sales. What can we give, what do we want back, and where do we stop. The list is two or three lines. It keeps the seller from improvising a discount under pressure.

In the weekly pipeline review, check every concession on deals near a decision. If the return field is empty, ask why. Over a month, the head of sales sees which sellers trade and which ones simply give. That decides who needs practice before the next big deal.

Three neighboring terms meet here. Concession is what you give. Discount authority sets how much each seller may give alone, and when a manager must step in. Price anchoring sets the starting point, so both sides see how far the deal moved. The decision itself often depends on one clean exchange.

• Asking for something with no value to you. A promise of a testimonial that never comes is not a return. Ask for terms you can check: payment date, contract length, volume or a decision date.
• Giving first and asking later. Once the concession is said aloud, the customer has it already. Use the form "if you can do this, we can do that".
• Trading against the clock alone. A discount for signing today can work once. Used every month, it teaches customers to wait for the end of the month.
• Preparing nothing. Without a list, the seller trades with whatever comes to mind. Agree on two gives and two asks before every decision meeting.

By Friday, the head of sales picks the two largest deals at the decision stage. With each seller, write three lines: what we can give, what we want in return, and the point where we stop. Keep them on the deal card in the CRM. After each meeting, the seller notes what was traded. Review both deals together at the next pipeline review.

Six areas of the job on one map, with a self-assessment and a plan for your first month.