Good Morning! Apparently, it’s National Slap a Coworker Day. Totally real. But totally not advised by HR. So before you celebrate the holiday and act on impulse, maybe settle for slapping together a few follow ups instead. Keeps you out of HR’s calendar and might even help your pipeline. Now, let’s get into today’s Follow Up. (:
Ask what they’ve tried 🗣
4 levers of sales negotiation 🔍
What sales industry is booming right now 👀
Sales jobs & a meme 😂
Sales Tip of The Day 💡
Instead of asking prospects what they want, ask what they’ve already tried.
❌ “What are you looking for in a solution?”
✅ “What have you already done to try to solve this, and what didn’t work?”
This shows you’re interested in their experience and positions you as a problem solver instead of just another vendor.
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The 4 Expert Levers of Negotiation
Wouldn’t it be nice if you actually enjoyed negotiating?
Not the fake-smiles and “let me talk to my manager” kind of negotiating.
I mean the good stuff, where both sides walk away happy, deals close faster, and you don’t feel like you just burned a bridge to get a deal done.
That’s what Todd Caponi wants to fix. He’s a sales historian, behavioral-science nerd, and former CRO turned author of The Transparency Sale and the new book The Four Levers of Negotiating.
So I asked Todd for the secrets behind successful negotiations in sales.
Here’s what he said…
1. If a salesperson wants to get better at negotiation, what’s the first thing they should do?
Todd: Start by shifting your mindset. We’ve all been raised in the sales profession to approach negotiation like a battle. The sales process is about building trust, building a relationship, and helping customers achieve optimal outcomes. Once the client says “yes”, we shift our mindset to focusing on our outcomes, hide the truth, and erode trust right at the goal-line of a deal. In this economy, where the deal is no longer the peak of the selling relationship, but an early milestone for customers who not only buy, but stay, buy more, and advocate for you, turning negotiation into a battle is no longer sustainable.
2. What do you see most salespeople doing wrong when it comes to negotiation?
Todd: Aside from becoming adversarial in our approach, as mentioned above, the biggest myth leading to poor outcomes is the belief that providing arbitrary discounts accelerates your deals. The minute we give away anything for free…a fake, expiring month-end discount, extended payment terms, or free add-ons, we’re signaling to the buyer that the price being proposed isn’t based on anything solid, prompting them to dig for more concessions. We fail to explain how the pricing is built. We fail to treat concessions like payments that should be earned. Those arbitrary concessions slow down your deals, lower margins, and diminish trust. Instead, the solution is a confident, consistent, transparent approach that builds trust and protects value.
3. What are the four levers of negotiation?
Todd: Virtually every “for-profit” company is driven by four foundational elements.
The first lever is “Volume,” or how much the customer commits to purchasing. Whatever is being sold (products, services, technology, etc.), every company desires larger commitments versus smaller ones.
The second lever is “Timing of Cash,” or how fast the customer pays for that volume. Faster payment improves cash flow, reduces risk, and is always preferred over slower payment.
The third lever is the “Length of Commitment,” or how long the customer commits to the volume. Longer commitments allow organizations to plan, invest, and deliver more efficiently, and that predictability is always more valuable than shorter commitments.
The fourth lever is the “Timing of the Deal,” or when the customer agrees to sign. Predictability in deal timing is vital for organizations to forecast and plan resources, so mutual alignment is always more valuable than uncertainty.
4. Are there any rules or frameworks around what you should give or get in a negotiation?
Todd: Absolutely, and this is where traditional negotiations go off the rails, and where the value of Four Levers Negotiating comes in.
The rule is simple: Your pricing is based on the four levers described above. Any concession, or pulling of a lever, should be a payment in exchange for an equal push of another.
For example, when a customer asks for a 10% discount, your answer should not be a “yes” or a “no” or some sort of value justification. Instead, start by understanding the driver of the request, and then by explaining, “Here is how our pricing works…” through the Four Levers. Then, one by one, exploring whether they can buy more, pay faster, commit longer, or help you and your organization predict the timing of the deal. Those are the four things you are willing to pay them for in the form of a discount.
5. What’s the secret to negotiating on price?
Todd: Ultimately, the secret to negotiating on price is through having a framework to show that your price has a reason behind it…a sound basis…and delivering it with transparency and consistency. Most buyers ask for a discount because they’ve been taught that the real price is always lower if they just ask. When we deliver pricing as though it’s made up, your customers will treat it that way.
I often joke that you would never go to the cashier at your local store and tell them you have a budget issue and need a discount. When we deliver the Four Levers with confidence, your buyers begin to understand the trade-offs, they respect the price, and they understand the logic.
6. Do you have any examples of big deals and the negotiation tactics used to close them?
Todd: While there are many stories in the book, possibly the most powerful example comes from a multimillion-dollar deal I was involved in with a massive oil services company. During negotiations, they hit us with a blunt demand for a 35% discount. The old school approach would have suggested either defending our price with a value pitch or starting a back-and-forth game of concessions. Instead, I wrote the four levers on a whiteboard in the room with them. I explained that “these are the four things that drive our business and our pricing”, then, guiding them through the four things, “we’re willing to pay you for in the form of a discount.” It shifted the dynamic immediately and became a collaboration session.
They didn’t end up committing to more volume or a longer term, but they did agree to pay more up front while also committing to a predictable signing timeline. We gave them a meaningful discount in return, which they earned. Mutual trust. No erosion of value. Transparency and structure, which works in both high-stakes complex deals, down to the simplest B2B transactions.
What is your favorite negotiation lever to use?
