Andy Paul is the author of Sell Without Selling Out. He's the host of the Sales Enablement Podcast, and has experience on being VP of Business Development and VP of Sales. In this episode, Andy talks about the importance of the “human element” and why we should utilize it more when it comes to business negotiations   Why you have to check out today’s podcast: Learn how automated business sequences negatively affects your business Understand the importance of having the “human element” in business negotiations Find out why you should hire actual negotiation experts and not salespeople when it comes to price negotiations   “Managers, take responsibility. Don't put the discounting in the hands of the sellers. And if managers show a little more discipline, then they can preserve the margins better.” – Andy Paul   Topics Covered: 02:35 – The time Andy learned that pricing is important in the world of sales 06:02 – Selling is about listening to your customers and finding ways to help them 08:37 – How you should communicate value to a customer to make a successful sales meeting 13:28 – Making your customers feel understood is one step in winning sales 17:07 – Why salespeople are unable to utilize the human element 19:20 – Automated selling sequences is mostly persuasive, which is not the best way to go in sales 20:50 – Salespeople’s job is to build one on one relationships with customers, as all customers are not the same 22:30 – How salespeople should handle price segmentations or price negotiations 25:25 – Have professional contract negotiators handle negotiations, and you’ll end up getting better deals 29:11 – Andy’s pricing advice   Key Takeaways: “I say sales, what you have to think about is your job as a salesperson is really nothing more than listening to your buyer, understanding the things that are most important to them in terms of the challenges they face and the outcomes they want to achieve by addressing those challenges and then helping them get that. That's your job. Listen and help.” – Andy Paul “If you can be the first to make the buyer feel understood, there are serious milestones happening that you can actually put yourself in the pole position, and win the deal at a higher frequency than your competitors.” – Andy Paul “When humanity becomes the differentiator and all the automated buying experiences start to become more similar, how do you stand apart? Being human.” – Andy Paul “Everyone wants to point the finger at salespeople as to be the blame for discounting. And the fault is really managers. It's not salespeople.” – Andy Paul   People / Resources Mentioned: How to Sell Without Selling out: https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Without-Selling-Out-Success/dp/1989603572 Humans are Underrated: https://www.amazon.com/Humans-Are-Underrated-Achievers-Brilliant/dp/0143108379 Talent is Overrated: https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Overrated-Separates-World-Class-Performers/dp/1591842948 Geoffrey Colvin: https://geoffcolvin.com/ Toastmasters: https://www.toastmasters.org/   Connect with Andy Paul: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realandypaul/ Website: https://www.andypaul.com/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mailto:mark@impactpricing.com