“Sales and negotiation are everything to a business, because if you cannot close a deal, then you are out of business.”

Peter Mulryan, Blackwater Distillery and one of the finalists in the AIB Start Up Academy said he was hoping today’s session on Sales and Negotation would hone his skills for future deals. Barbara Lynch facilitated the group of eleven finalists for week five of their eight-week accelerator programme.

“It’s really good to have the tools for situations, particularly one you haven’t hit before. Let’s face it, we are all start-ups so this is all brand new, so to be given tools that you can use when you are working is hugely important,” said Mulryan.

Lynch said she would be focussing on helping the finalists think about their product and how they might sell their product to potential customers, and also working on their negotiation strategies.

“We are looking at profiling their customers and having a really good understanding of who their customers are, and the problems they might be facing and how they can help them. So they are looking at their unique value proposition and their offering. And how to sell their products specific to the customer’s needs - so tell them a story, show the customer how their product offering will help them with the problems that they have.”

Lynch showed the finalists how to refine their sales approach and technique and think about the customer and to avoid the pushy sell.

“Any sales person who goes out to try and push a product on a person is going to get the shutters down or the barriers up. Really what they need to do is plan in advance and go out and have good, meaningful conversations with customers so that they can make recommendations that make sense to the customer and they can see what’s in it for them. I think, typically, when people go out and don’t get the sale that they were after, it is because it is all about them and pushing a product as opposed to making it about the customer and their problems.”

Negotiation
In the afternoon, the subject shifted to negotiation and working out their "bargaining zone" in advance.

“If you go into a negotiation and have not worked out what your bargaining zone is, that is the point at which you are going to make no profit, or what you would absolutely love to get, the sale can go anywhere and you might make the sale but there is no value to it. You also hold on to your power in what your upper and lower limits are and what you might be able to give to the customer,” Lynch explained.

Carrie Doorley, who runs Queezybags, said she found the negotiation skills fantastic and it will influence her approach to future deals.

“It is not always about lowering your price. You can do other things and you really need to step back and plan properly because you can end up in bad situations if you are just desperate for the sale. If you know your bottom line and your walk away point before you go into a negotiation, you are in control. Barbara showed me that I need to keep my bargaining power and I have a totally new outlook on it from now on.”

Sabine Hobbel from Leaves said she was enjoying the Academy for the sessions themselves and also hearing how the other finalists approached sales and negotiations. “We learned some tips on our approach on how to ensure you don’t go in too hard with your sell. Sessions like this are really helpful for us to think about all these steps or to think about it again, and hearing how the others are all thinking about it, it’s very useful.”

The eleven finalists in this year’s Academy are Brendan Joseph, Nasal Medical, Rebel Chilli, The Cool Bean Company, Popertee, Leaves, Buska Boxes, Blackwater Distillery, DropChef, Queezybags and Topper.

In just over four weeks the finalists will find out who has won the ultimate prize after they make their final pitch to a panel of judges. The top prize is worth over €200,000 and includes: a €20,000 cash investment from AIB, substantial advertising and marketing packages, PR training, office space and development support. There will also be a runner's up prize.
For more details on the prizes visit irishtimes.com/aibstartupacademy

Next week: it's all about social media with The Irish Times' Conor Pope imparting his wisdom. Finalists will also hear from Daniella Morrisson Twamey, head of social media at AIB, and Felicity McCarthy of Spark Digital.