Is Negotiation Broken? How the SaaS and AI Era Changed Everything

Is it naive of me to think that traditional negotiating approaches are no longer sustainable? Am I biased?

Fundamentally, sales is still sales. Arthur Sheldon’s definition from 1924 is still as true today as it was 102 years ago:

Arthur Frederick Sheldon (pc LMHS)

“Successful selling is the art of inducing conscious, willing agreement, resulting in a sale mutually beneficial to both buyer and seller.” – 1924

However, two things have forced us to change our lens:

1. The “as a service” economy: The deal is no longer the peak of the selling engagement like it was back then. Today, more than ever, you need customers to buy, stay, buy more, and advocate.
2. The “feedback” economy: The ability for customers to connect, talk, share, and its collection ending up in the AI machine means the truth always comes to light. Getting away with stuff is no longer as easy as it was even twenty years ago.

We’ve changed multiple elements of the selling world to account for it – and the long-term thinking has given rise to “client success”, the rise of “revenue operations”, and the rise of the “chief revenue officer”.

Hopefully, it’s what has made The Transparency Sale such an accidental hit.

But what hasn’t changed? Negotiating.

In a 1983 article, Jeffrey Rubin wrote in the American Behavioral Scientist, “Typically, each side begins by asking for more than it expects to get, and through a series of offers and counteroffers in a stepwise concession process, a mutually acceptable agreement is ultimately reached.”

Has that changed at all? I don’t see it…

And today, you need customers for the long-term. Today, your customers talk, AI is exposing pricing models. Customers all paying different amounts based on how well the deal was negotiated? I just don’t see how that’s sustainable…

I wrote about it for the B2B News Network. The solution is simple.

“Some of the most successful direct sellers buck cut-price competition by frankly laying all the cards on the table and tactfully appealing to that sense of fair play which is inherent in the average American.” Waldon Fawcett, Salesology Magazine – 1926

Four Levers Negotiating is the playbook. (I know, I know, I’m probably biased…)

Todd Caponi, CSP® fell into sales and fell in love with the decision science and history behind it. He’s held multiple sales leadership roles, helping build one company into Chicago’s fastest-growing, another to an IPO and nearly $3B acquisition, and earning a Stevie Award as Worldwide VP of Sales. Todd is the author of The Transparency Sale, ranked by Book Authority among the best sales books of all time, and the award-winning The Transparent Sales Leader. His latest book, Four Levers Negotiating, was released on January 27th. He now speaks and teaches revenue teams worldwide and hosts The Sales History Podcast.

Reach out (email to info@toddcaponi.com) – for inquiries about speaking at your event or sales kickoff, for programs to upskill your customer-facing teams and leaders, or just to nerd out on sales or sales history.

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