7 Costly Phrases to Avoid in Any Sales Negotiation

Negotiation is both an art and a science. Your mastery of language can mean the difference between a hugely profitable deal and a devastating loss. In fact, research shows that suboptimal negotiation skills and behaviors cost organizations up to 42% of potential revenue.

As a sales professional, your goal is to artfully align your offering with the buyer‘s needs in a way that delivers value for them and protects your interests. At the negotiation stage, you and the prospect should be striving for a collaborative solution, not an antagonistic battle of the wills.

But even with a win-win mindset, a few poorly-chosen words can derail a deal. Here are seven phrases to avoid if you want to maintain the upper hand and unlock maximum value in your sales negotiations:

1. "This should be a quick conversation."

You might assume that a time-boxed negotiation will motivate the other side to be more agreeable. But research shows the opposite is true. A study by Harvard Business School found that negotiators who felt less time pressure made more concessions and arrived at better outcomes than those who were in a rush.

As master negotiator Chris Voss explains in his book Never Split the Difference, "Time pressure is the ultimate no-no of negotiating—it kills rapport, creativity, and thoughtful decision making."

Consider this cautionary tale: A software sales rep was trying to close a large enterprise deal before the end of the quarter. On the final call, he told the client, "I only have 30 minutes, so we need to move quickly." The client immediately became defensive and resistant to the rep‘s attempts to push the deal through. Two weeks later, the deal fell apart completely.

The lesson? Never make your prospects feel like they are on the clock. Instead, block out more than enough time and let them know you‘re willing to dedicate whatever time it takes to address their concerns thoroughly. You‘ll be amazed at how much smoother the negotiation goes.

2. "The price will be somewhere between X and Y."

Providing a range rather than a specific price might seem like a good way to gauge the prospect‘s budget and preserve flexibility. But it usually backfires due to a cognitive bias called anchoring.

Anchoring refers to people‘s tendency to fixate on the first number put forth in a negotiation and evaluate all subsequent offers relative to that initial figure. Even throwing out a lowball number that you never expect the buyer to accept can warp their perception of your product‘s value.

For example, a Corporate Visions study found that when sellers provided an initial price range of $1.5 to $2 million for a product valued at $1.9 million, buyers always gravitated to the lower end. The mere mention of $1.5 million made $1.9 million seem exorbitant, even if the buyer would have happily paid $1.9 million in the absence of the range.

The takeaway? Lead with one thoughtfully-selected and justified price. If the prospect insists on a lower number, consider it, but don‘t negotiate against yourself right out of the gate.

3. "What if we lowered the price?"

When a prospect balks at your price, discounting can seem like the path of least resistance. But habitual discounting is a race to the bottom that erodes your margins and positions your product as a commodity.

One study of over 2,000 B2B negotiations found that salespeople gave unnecessary discounts 62% of the time due to fear of losing the deal. Those unforced discounts added up to a whopping 18% of total revenue!

The problem with leading with price concessions is that it frames the negotiation as a zero-sum game. The buyer may keep pushing for steeper and steeper discounts, anchored by your initial offer.

A more effective approach is value-based negotiation. Before engaging in any talk of discounts, revisit the business results your solution delivers and the cost of inaction for the buyer. Explore creative ways to add value without slashing prices, such as:

• Faster implementation or white glove onboarding
• Additional user training or customization
• Quarterly business reviews or a named Customer Success Manager
• Flexible financing options or payment terms
• Free pilots of additional features or products

The goal is to expand the pie of potential value, not just haggle over how to divide it. When you approach negotiation through a lens of value creation versus price reduction, you‘ll preserve your margins while still delighting your customers.

4. "I have the final say."

There‘s nothing wrong with being a decision maker. But prematurely claiming final authority removes your flexibility if a deal starts trending in an unfavorable direction.

Consider this real-world example: A sales manager was negotiating a complex contract with a Fortune 500 company. In an effort to project strength, she told the other side "I‘m the final approver, so what I say goes." The buyer took that as carte blanche to make increasingly aggressive demands, assuming the sales manager wouldn‘t risk slowing momentum by pushing back.

Faced with an exploding scope and shrinking margins, the sales manager had to sheepishly admit that she needed to review the terms with her VP before signing. The buyer was furious and nearly walked away due to the perceived deception.

The moral of the story? You can be authoritative without over-extending yourself. Deferring to a higher power or decision-making committee creates space for you to thoughtfully evaluate deals without getting bulldozed in the heat of the moment.

5. "We can sort out the specifics later."

The devil is in the details, especially when it comes to complex B2B deals. Lack of clarity on deliverables, timelines, and responsibilities is a recipe for downstream dissatisfaction and disputes.

For example, the Corporate Executive Board found that nearly two-thirds of customer loyalty is driven by the sales experience, with the majority of post-sale issues stemming from unstated assumptions during the contracting phase.

To quantify the risk, let‘s say you close a $250,000 deal but leave some details to be ironed out later. If the customer winds up feeling misled about the specifics, you may have to offer a 20% discount to salvage the relationship. Suddenly your six-figure deal is only worth $200,000.

That‘s why it‘s critical to explicitly document the scope, metrics, and accountabilities before concluding your negotiation. Use a mutual action plan to capture:

• The specific products and services to be provided
• Key milestones, deadlines and contingencies
• Roles and responsibilities on both sides
• Pricing, payment terms and any conditions
• Objectives and success criteria

Taking the time upfront to align on and memorialize expectations prevents costly surprises after the fact. It also demonstrates you are organized, transparent and committed to your customer‘s success.

6. "I‘m under a lot of pressure to wrap this up."

We‘ve all felt the heat of an impending quota deadline. But verbally communicating your desperation to close a deal sabotages your negotiating position.

Think of it like a tell in poker. Just like a player‘s eye twitch might betray the strength of their hand, your admission of urgency reveals that you have more to lose than the buyer if the deal falls through. They can exploit your weakness by dragging out the timeline or making unreasonable requests, knowing you can‘t afford to walk away empty-handed.

Even if you are feeling the pressure internally, hold your cards close to the vest. Research shows that negotiators who appeared stressed or eager to reach agreement were less likely to arrive at an outcome they were happy with. In one simulation, anxious participants left up to 45% of potential value on the table!

To project calm confidence, even when you‘re stressed:

• Practice deep breathing and positive self-talk before your negotiation
• Script out your key points and stick to them if the discussion gets heated
• Ask questions to uncover the other party‘s motivations and timeline
• Take breaks if you need to clear your head and confer with colleagues
• Focus on articulating value and structuring a deal that works for both sides

Remember, neediness is the ultimate negotiation killer. The more you can detach yourself from the outcome and negotiate from a place of composure, the better your chances of success.

7. "Let‘s just split the difference."

When you‘re tantalizingly close to a deal but just can‘t seem to agree on the final price, splitting the difference can be tempting. But this arbitrary concession usually leaves money on the table.

Here‘s why: Let‘s say you‘re offering a software product for $100,000 and the buyer is pushing for $80,000. If you‘ve already made some concessions to get to your price and the buyer hasn‘t budged, immediately offering to split the difference at $90,000 means you‘re sacrificing $10,000 while the buyer gives up nothing.

What‘s more, studies show that 50/50 splits often produce suboptimal agreements compared to deals where both parties make roughly equal concessions. There‘s even a name for it: the winner‘s curse. It refers to the disappointment people feel when they "win" a negotiation, only to later realize they overpaid or made too large a concession.

To avoid the winner‘s curse, embrace a trading mindset where you methodically exchange items of roughly equivalent value. For example, you might say "I can come down to $90,000 if you agree to a two-year contract instead of one." Or "If we remove the customization, I can offer an additional 10 user licenses to get you to your target price."

The key is to get creative and avoid the lazy default of splitting the baby. By strategically trading concessions, you expand the pie, build goodwill, and arrive at a true win-win agreement.

The Bottom Line

In any negotiation, what you say and how you say it has an outsized impact on the outcome. By choosing your words carefully and sidestepping common verbal traps, you can preserve your leverage and steer the conversation in a favorable direction.

Remember, even when tensions run high, negotiation is not a zero-sum battle to be won at all costs. It‘s a delicate dance that requires active listening, creative problem-solving, and a commitment to finding alignment.

Eliminating phrases that convey inflexibility, desperation, or a myopic price focus is a great start. But the real key is adopting a collaborative mindset where your goal is to understand the other party‘s needs and co-create a solution that maximizes value for everyone.

That‘s the true hallmark of a master negotiator. And with practice, discipline and a willingness to choose your words wisely, you too can achieve negotiation mastery.

To continue honing your negotiation skills, check out these additional resources:

• Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
• Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury
• Influence by Robert Cialdini
• LinkedIn Learning courses on Negotiation Foundations and Advanced Negotiation

Happy negotiating!