Program Overview
The strongest selling skills lose value if they collapse in the negotiation. Anxiety, pricing pressure, and fear of damaging relationships often lead sellers to concede too quickly. Richardson’s Consultative Negotiations Training equips sellers with a repeatable negotiation framework rooted in behavioral science. The program teaches participants to preserve value, adapt with agility, and guide negotiations toward outcomes that protect margins and strengthen customer trust. This training builds the confidence to manage pricing pressure, agility to adapt to each situation, skills to convert demands into needs, preserve deal size, and discipline to close negotiations without eroding value.
For Who
Sales Professionals
Sales Managers
Business Development
Format
Instructor-led
Virtual instructor-led
Digital Learning
Blended Learning
Duration
2-Day ILT or 4 four-hour VILT workshops with Pre and Post Digital Learning
Why Consultative Negotiations Matter
Negotiations are often where value is lost. Sellers under pressure may:
- Concede too soon.
- Jump straight to trading.
- Fail to uncover true customer needs.
Research from Bain & Company shows that customers are willing to pay 10–12% more for high-quality or sustainable products. This means concessions aren’t always necessary — if sellers reinforce value effectively, they can preserve margins while still meeting customer expectations.
By shaping customer perceptions of value and focusing on needs, not demands, sellers protect deal size, preserve margins, and create mutually beneficial agreements that strengthen long-term relationships.
.png)
Program Framework
The Consultative Negotiations Framework provides a strategic, dialogue-based roadmap sellers can use across industries and deal sizes:
- Prepare: Build a negotiation strategy with clear objectives, opening terms, and trading guidelines.
- Open: Set the tone, establish credibility, and surface all terms before discussions begin.
- Control: Avoid premature concessions by converting demands to needs and reinforcing value.
- Trade: Exchange value with purpose, ensuring every concession has a return.
- Close: Secure commitments, overcome deadlocks, and reinforce agreements.
- Act: Follow up effectively to solidify trust and maintain momentum.
This framework is reinforced with tools like the Negotiations Planning Tool and role-play scenarios for practical application.
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn to:
- Control the impulse to jump to trading.
- Lead negotiations with an opening that anchors value.
- Convert demands into needs to preserve deal size.
- Trade strategically instead of conceding.
- Close confidently while protecting relationships.
- Apply psychological principles of decision-making.
- Follow up to secure momentum and prevent reopening discussions.
The video below provides an example of the digital learning content provided as part of this program.
Expected Business Impact
Organizations that invest in Consultative Negotiations training achieve:
- Protected margins and larger deal sizes by controlling value perception.
- Faster sales cycles through structured, confident negotiation.
- Higher win ratios by resolving objections and deadlocks constructively.
- Improved customer trust from negotiations that feel collaborative, not adversarial.
Connection to Richardson’s Portfolio
Consultative Negotiations builds on Richardson’s Consultative Selling methodology and by applying it in high-pressure negotiation settings. It is available on the Accelerate Sales Performance System, which ensures ongoing reinforcement, measurement, and coaching.
FAQ: Consultative Negotiations Training
Q. What is Richardson’s Consultative Negotiations Training?
A. It’s a program that teaches a proven negotiation framework based on behavioral science, helping sellers achieve mutually beneficial results while protecting value.
Q. Why is negotiation training important?
A. Negotiations are often where value is lost. Without training, sellers concede too quickly, eroding margins and weakening relationships.
Q. What framework does the training use?
A. The Consultative Negotiations Framework: Prepare, Open, Control, Trade, Close, and Act.
Q. What skills will participants build?
A. Controlling concessions, converting demands to needs, preserving deal size, trading strategically, closing confidently, and following up effectively.
Q. Who should attend this program?
A. Sales professionals, account managers, business development reps, and sales managers who negotiate frequently.
Q. What outcomes can organizations expect?
A. Higher win rates, stronger margins, faster cycles, and improved customer trust.
