Leveraging AI in Sales Negotiation, Ep #470

We're joined once again by Lisa Earle McLeod, renowned author of "Selling with Noble Purpose" and a global leader in purpose-driven business strategies. This time, Lisa dives deep into the transformative role that artificial intelligence is playing in negotiation strategy and tactics.

We discuss how AI is changing the sales game—not just by giving us better tactics, but by helping us see through our customers' eyes to uncover what truly matters to them.

Lisa shares fresh insights on crafting more effective negotiation approaches by leveraging AI to understand customer risks, uncover hidden pain points, and create compelling questions that drive value-based conversations.

Plus, she unpacks the do's and don'ts of using AI, highlights common pitfalls, and shares a real-world story of closing a challenging deal using these cutting-edge methods.

This episode is packed with practical advice on how to harness AI for more genuine, successful negotiations—while keeping the client at the heart of it all. 

Outline of This Episode

• [00:00] AI missteps in sales negotiation.
• [06:00] Customer-centric discovery emphasizes ROI by highlighting competitive consequences.
• [08:46] AI improves business strategy by generating unexpected, insightful questions.
• [11:52] Use AI as a nonjudgmental coach available anytime for negotiation advice.
• [15:11] AI communication dos and don'ts.
• [18:28] Lisa's story of using AI to highlight the cost of inaction.

Rethinking How We Use AI in Sales Negotiation

AI tools have flooded the sales landscape, promising quick wins and smarter decisions. But, as Lisa warns, the way most sellers use AI can actually backfire.

Too many reps default to self-serving prompts—focused on expressing their own value or outshining the competition—instead of truly stepping into their client's shoes. Instead, Lisa suggests using AI to uncover the risks, concerns, and goals that matter most to your buyer.

For example, rather than asking, "How can I win this deal?" prompt AI with, "What risks does my client face if they don't act on my proposal?" or "What might the CFO of a large manufacturing company be worried about right now?"

By doing this, AI becomes a discovery partner—not just a generator of clever closing lines.

The Power of "Cost of Inaction" in Persuasion

Too often, sellers build polished ROI arguments, only to watch stakeholders do nothing. Why? Highlighting what a company could lose by standing still is often far more compelling than dangling the prospect of what they might gain. 

AI can be a powerful ally in quantifying and articulating these hidden risks. By prompting AI to brainstorm implication questions—"What happens if your competitors outpace you next year?"—sellers can stimulate genuine urgency within decision-makers.

It's not about scare tactics; it's about helping clients confront realities they may have overlooked, with the help of AI's outside-the-box perspective.

Best Practices: Do's and Don'ts for AI-Driven Negotiation

Harnessing AI's power in negotiation requires more than clever prompts; it demands ethical considerations and a client-centric mindset. Lisa shares these essential ground rules:

Do:

• Start with the Client: Frame AI prompts around your buyer's role, goals, and pains—not your own pitch.
• Unearth Strategic Goals: Have AI help uncover what truly matters to your client's business, even if it's unrelated to your product.
• Ask for Better Questions: Use AI to generate implication and discovery questions that go beyond the obvious, elevating sales conversations.

Don't:

• Don't Overshare: Never input confidential or proprietary information into public AI tools—treat them as you would social media.
• Don't Be Self-Serving: Avoid focusing AI on "how to win" at the expense of the client's needs—this erodes trust and effectiveness.
• Don't Sound Like a Robot: Use AI's polished language carefully. While it's great for proposals, it can sound canned in conversation. Personalize and adapt its suggestions.

Transparency is also key. If you use AI to prepare, be open about it: "I put your profile into AI to think more deeply about your goals—here's what came up. How does that resonat