Guest Saad A. Saad's position is that sales negotiation is its own discipline, separate from the general negotiation literature, and that it starts at the first customer interaction rather than at the end.
Decide, before you answer, what you are trying to achieve, how you will support it and how you will justify it. The stated goal is a fair deal, not beating the other side, and the relationship has to survive the conversation intact.
Do not go in with a win-lose mentality, and do not be a bully. The episode is explicit that it damages credibility and trustworthiness, and in an industry this small that is a durable cost.
Source: Mastering Sales Negotiation: Insights from Saad A Saad, episode 70 of the Oil & Gas Sales & Marketing Podcast. The framework is Saad A. Saad’s, from that episode.
The next step
If the way energy buyers actually buy is costing you deals, talk it through with ModalPoint, the go-to-market firm Matthew Bertram runs. A 30-minute discovery call: no scope, no commitment, and a mutual NDA before anything substantive. You get a reply within one business day, and the first call is with someone who works in the sector.