---
title: "Thirty Secrets to Countering KA Procurement Negotiation Tactics"
description: "As a KA manager (salesperson), you face procurement negotiations daily, and these buyers are typically trained professionals who use their learned tactics against you. Without proper training, especially for new KA managers, you may fail to recognize these tactics as mere tricks, leading to concessions without gains. This article provides thirty counter-strategies to help KA managers effectively respond to common procurement negotiation techniques."
author: "赵永杰"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2015-06-28"
language: "en"
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# Thirty Secrets to Countering KA Procurement Negotiation Tactics

> As a KA manager (salesperson), you face procurement negotiations daily, and these buyers are typically trained professionals who use their learned tactics against you. Without proper training, especially for new KA managers, you may fail to recognize these tactics as mere tricks, leading to concessions without gains. This article provides thirty counter-strategies to help KA managers effectively respond to common procurement negotiation techniques.

As a KA manager (salesperson), you face procurement negotiations daily, and these buyers are typically trained professionals who use their learned tactics against you. Without proper training, especially for new KA managers, you may fail to recognize these tactics as mere tricks, leading to concessions without gains. Therefore, companies should provide basic negotiation training to new KA managers, helping them understand and counter these tactics. Unfortunately, many companies lack such training, leaving KA managers panicked and helpless. Below, based on common procurement tactics, I have identified counter-strategies—the thirty secrets to cracking KA procurement negotiation tactics.

Buyer's tactics are abbreviated as "B"; Salesperson's counter-strategies as "S".

1. (B) Never try to like a salesperson, but say he is your partner.
---(S) Always like the buyer, and always treat his boss as the enemy.

2. (B) Treat the salesperson as our number one enemy.
---(S) Treat the buyer's boss as our number one enemy, and the buyer as a friend.

3. (B) Never accept the first offer; make the salesperson beg; this will provide us a better deal.
---(S) Never give only one quote; make him exchange something you need.

4. (B) Always use the slogan: "You can do better."
---(S) "Actually, I do better in your competitor's store."

5. (B) Always keep the lowest price record and keep asking for more until the salesperson stops offering discounts.
---(S) "Tell you this is my bottom line; tell you I will stop supplying my products; this is my boss's decision."

6. (B) Always consider yourself as someone's subordinate, and think the salesperson always has a superior who can offer extra discounts.
---(S) "My boss doesn't understand or value our deal; he has no concept, but he has principles."

7. (B) When a salesperson easily accepts, or goes to the restroom, or calls for approval, consider what he gives as easily obtained, and demand more.
---(S) "Before calling, ask if there are any additional conditions?"

8. (B) Be smart, but pretend to be foolish.
---(S) Use the same trick.

9. (B) Do not concede before raising objections.
---(S) Remember: loss must be compensated; and gain ≥ loss.

10. (B) Remember when a salesperson comes to ask for something, he has conditions to give.
---(S) Tell him: If you don't agree to do (something), your competitor is waiting for me to do (something) there.

11. (B) Remember salespeople don't ask; they wait for the buyer to ask, and usually never ask for anything in return.
---(S) They deceive themselves! Now any KA salesperson knows input should be proportional to output.

12. (B) Don't feel sorry for the salesperson; play the bad kid game.
---(S) It's his boss's ugly face, not his intention; so tell him that admitting mistakes and correcting them is good.

13. (B) Use arguments without hesitation, even if they are false; for example: "Competitors always give us the best quotes, best turnover, and payment terms."
---(S) Tell them the data you know, even if not accurate, treat it as fact; they will be even more ignorant.

14. (B) Repeat the same objections even if they are absurd; the more you repeat, the more the salesperson believes.
---(S) Remember: all objections from buyers are nonsense; just listen, don't take them seriously!

15. (B) Don't forget you will get 80% of the conditions in the final round; make the salesperson worry he will lose.
---(S) In your mind, no deal is settled in less than 3 rounds; negotiate at least 5 times to make the buyer anxious to compromise.

16. (B) Don't forget to learn the personality and needs of salespeople who visit daily, and try to find their weaknesses.
---(S) A buyer handles dozens of suppliers, while you handle only him; you have ample opportunity to find his weaknesses.

17. (B) Demand impossible things to annoy the salesperson; threaten him by delaying agreements, making him wait, setting meetings but not attending, having another salesperson replace him, threatening to remove his products, reduce display space, clear promotional staff, and give him little time to decide. Even if wrong, calculate yourself; the salesperson will give more.
---(S) Support the buyer strongly in daily work; continuously weaken your competitors so the buyer cannot rely on any of them.

18. (B) Note that discounts have other names: bonuses, gifts, souvenirs, sponsorships, subsidies, tabloid inserts, compensation, slotting fees, donations, re-launches, anniversaries, etc.; all are welcome.
---(S) Okay, but keep changing trade terms; remember the buyer ultimately looks at the total, and so do you, but you can include brand value enhancement, which is not the buyer's expertise; ask marketing for resources.

19. (B) Don't enter a dead end; that's the worst thing for a buyer.
---(S) "Tell him this is a dead end; if you enter, use extreme measures without hesitation, so his boss gets complaints from store and regional managers, and then his boss knows it's a minefield and won't touch it."

20. (B) Avoid the topic of "profit margin" because "the devil avoids the cross."
---(S) Ignore his claims of not making money; when they truly don't, they will come begging you.

21. (B) If the salesperson takes too long to answer, say you've already made a deal with his competitor.
---(S) Joke: The competitor's KA manager has always wanted to be my assistant; he needs development space too. Besides, letting competitors do loss-making business is fine; they have budget.

22. (B) Never let any competitor bargain on any promotion.
---(S) So far, retail has no absolute monopoly, so ignore it.

23. (B) Your slogan must be: "You sell everything I buy, but I don't always buy everything I sell."
---(S) Even the greatest brand must know which SKUs don't sell well; balance is ideal.

24. (B) Don't allow salespeople to read data on the screen; the less they know, the more they believe us.
---(S) Computer data isn't real either; it can be modified at will, so we don't even look. Our own real data is enough.

25. (B) Don't be intimidated by the salesperson's new equipment; it doesn't mean they are ready to negotiate.
---(S) Next time, bring a projector and laptop, give a 100-page PPT, and talk for 2 hours.

26. (B) Don't worry whether the salesperson is old or young; they all give in easily. The old think they know everything, and the young lack experience.
---(S) Salespeople shouldn't be judged by age. Remember the basic principle: your demands ≥ your concessions.

27. (B) If the salesperson comes with his boss, demand more discounts, more promotion participation, and threaten to remove his product, because the boss doesn't want to lose a customer in front of the salesperson.
---(S) In this region, you have the final say on KA, so never bring your boss with you.

28. (B) Whenever a competitor is running a promotion, ask the salesperson "What did you do there?" and demand the same terms.
---(S) Tell him: The secret to market success is differentiation; no need to match competitors. Next time, I'll do another promotion here.

29. (B) When you can't decide immediately, tell the salesperson you need to report to your boss; you can't decide.
---(S) This shows two things: 1. Your negotiation skills are high; he can't handle you. 2. Your promotion offers are important; he needs to report. But when he makes demands you can't decide immediately, do the same: report to your boss.

30. (B) Behind a great brand, you may find a salesperson with no experience relying solely on the brand.
---(S) You also know that for retail buyers, it's the same.

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