--- title: Sales Performance description: Sales performance solutions built for sales leaders looking to gain backbone-driven tactics to help improve their negotiating strategies. image: https://go.holdenadvisors.com/hubfs/Banner%20images/benjamin-child-17946-unsplash-1.jpg --- [![Holden_Logo-PMS655_PMS1807](https://go.holdenadvisors.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HoldenAdvisors%20August2017/Image/Holden_Logo-PMS655_PMS1807.png?width=828&height=276&name=Holden_Logo-PMS655_PMS1807.png "Holden_Logo-PMS655_PMS1807")](https://www.holdenadvisors.com) ![benjamin-child-17946-unsplash-1.jpg](https://go.holdenadvisors.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Banner%20images/benjamin-child-17946-unsplash-1.jpg?width=5157&name=benjamin-child-17946-unsplash-1.jpg "benjamin-child-17946-unsplash-1.jpg") # Negotiating with Backbone ## Rethinking Your Approach to Sales ### "I need to tear down the way we look at sales..." Sales leaders have come to us numerous times with just this thought, and we often respond, "Have you ever wondered whether your approach to sales could be reimagined?" Or "Do you worry that the impact of your sales methodology and current sales negotiating tactics have plateaued?" Holden Advisors builds upon leading sales methodologies, adding essential skills to the sales team to protect margins and profits. Our team is deeply-seasoned in working with sales teams; we leverage the sales methodology in place and arm sales to take control of both the negotiation and entire sales process to drive opportunities and close at your price. ## How to Negotiate with Backbone ### "My sales team is getting crushed when negotiating new deals..." Sales leaders frequently call us to say, "enough is enough." In negotiation after negotiation, they are being beaten up repeatedly by procurement and turning over seemingly endless price concessions; and now they want – and are ready for – a big change. These world-class organizations recognize that defending even 1% in price in a $5M deal drops $50K in margin to the bottom line.  [Negotiating with Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/negotiating-with-backbone/) is designed to help you combat the new procurement playbook and develop your own plays to take back the field. Everyone in the organization – from pricing to marketing to sales leadership – will benefit from learning how they play a role in protecting the company’s value and getting a fair price based on value. **Backbone strategies include:** - Decoding [the buyer’s position](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/winning-the-negotiation-game?hsLang=zh) and tactics - [Qualifying](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/rfp-just-arrived?hsLang=zh) deals to determine when to respond to an RFP - Making better decisions for [resource allocation](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/change-customer-relationship-eliminate-profit-eroding-bad-habits?hsLang=zh) - Decreasing the dependency on [executive bail outs](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/focus-on-highest-paying-customers-to-reduce-churn?hsLang=zh)to “save the deal” - [Mapping the buying center](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/do-you-live-or-die-on-your-ability-to-get-price-here-are-your-3-essential-tips?hsLang=zh)to better manage procurement gatekeepers - [Knowing your position](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/move-beyond-rabbit-sales-strategy-game-changer?hsLang=zh)at the bargaining table and how your strengths can be leveraged to close profitable business [Negotiating with Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/negotiating-with-backbone/) is a culture-changing, experiential initiative to drive better understanding, management, and defense of value in tough negotiations.  Designed to give a power-boost to mainstream sales processes, Backbone gives salespeople and leaders the knowledge and tools to effectively identify buyer behaviors and use battle-tested tactics to negotiate with customers to realize higher revenue and margins. What do you say when a customer asks for a discount?  If your answer is anything other than, “No problem,” you are likely missing an essential tool in your sales toolkit, namely, Give-GetsSM. These are product or service trade-offs that your sales team can add or subtract to meet the customer’s budget or bluff.  So, when a customer asks for a discount, your response should be, “No problem. Let me show you what options are available at different price points.” Poker Players will object loudly, while Price Buyers will say “Thanks.”  Therein lies your negotiating power.  For more on curbing your discounting, check out:  [![Download the Give-GetsSM Overview](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2542915/26b94278-3687-457c-bad5-ec672f423f44.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2542915/26b94278-3687-457c-bad5-ec672f423f44)   ### "But is the impact of Negotiating with Backbone measurable?" A perfectly reasonable concern. A recent case study helps to provide some context for what Negotiating with Backbone meant to an EVP at a global services company as well as the [resulting meteoric 44 percent ](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/studies/revenue-is-up-44-courtesy-of-a-dose-of-backbone/)[revenue increase](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/studies/revenue-is-up-44-courtesy-of-a-dose-of-backbone/) he experienced after implementing it. ## How to Sell with Backbone ### "When's the best time to engage our customers?"  Time and time again we hear from sales leaders who are reactive rather than proactive. [Selling with Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/selling-with-backbone/) is an initiative specifically designed to help Sellers engage both early in the customer’s decision process, when Buyers are most interested in having a value conversation, and higher in the organization, where the real decisions are made. [Selling with Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/selling-with-backbone/) improves business outcomes by focusing on the customer and: - Engaging early to [uncover unmet needs](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/winning-the-negotiation-game?hsLang=zh) - Empowering sales to have [high-impact value conversations ](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/value-based-pricing-shift-your-sales-conversation-into-high-gear?hsLang=zh) - [Transforming your sales team](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/winning-sales-transformation?hsLang=zh) from product sellers to business advisors - [Making your internal champion a hero](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/5-selling-skills-to-make-the-customer-journey-soar?hsLang=zh) by measuring and communicating your realized value to the c-suite. Check out our fact sheet on Selling with Backbone: [![Selling with Backbone Overview](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2542915/0d4c887d-f8a5-4127-9b97-6bac12cbfb29.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2542915/0d4c887d-f8a5-4127-9b97-6bac12cbfb29) ## Backbone Through Coaching ### "Coaches that weren't just about achieving results, but about about sustaining results" Holden Advisors’ team of selling improvement experts leverages its wealth of experience to coach your teams to be more successful in sustaining [Our coaching programs](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/coaching/) extend beyond one-on-one and include: - Developing a Coaching Organization - Executive Coaching - The Coaching Refresher \[Master Class\] > We hear it all the time: *sales training doesn’t produce the results business leaders need. * Too often training is solely activity-based and isn’t focused on the specific, monetized value you bring to your customers.  That’s where [Holden Advisors](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/about/overview/) is different.  We educate sales organizations to understand and [communicate your value](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/service-value-as-a-negotiation-tool?hsLang=zh) in a compelling way so buyers agree to close deals quickly.  At the same time, we help sellers identify unique buyer types and employ [Give GetsSM](https://blog.holdenadvisors.com/field-report-using-give-gets-nets-sales-team-150k-profit-improvement?hsLang=zh) at the negotiating table so you not only close the deal, but close it at the highest profit possible. ![Brian Doyle](https://go.holdenadvisors.com/hubfs/HoldenHS%20(2%20of%2012).jpg) Brian Doyle Holden Advisors > Facilitating a Backbone workshop with commercial teams is truly an enriching experience as I get to see up close and in real-time exactly the types of challenges that B2B sales teams are facing and how [Negotiating with Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/negotiating-with-backbone/) and [Selling with Backbone](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/solutions/sales/selling-with-backbone/) can address and solve for those urgent needs. ![Patrick Profile 2019](https://go.holdenadvisors.com/hubfs/Patrick%20Profile%202019.png) Patrick McCullough Holden Advisors ## Find out more on how Backbone can transform your sales program. We are a team of[B2B value, pricing, and sales performance experts](https://www.holdenadvisors.com/) operating on the frontlines of helping companies develop value know-how, build cross-functional alignment and enable market-leading results. Using our proven initiatives, we fuel transformative growth for our clients, in revenue and profits, close rates, ROS, margins, and internal cooperation. 300 Baker Ave, Suite 300, Concord MA 01742 978-405-0020 [info@holdenadvisors.com](mailto:tmullane@holdenadvisors.com) Copyright 2026 |