For many FMCG suppliers, negotiation is where commercial pressure becomes most visible. But it may not be where value is actually being lost.
Sales teams today are managing a much broader commercial equation. Promotional investment needs to work harder. Pricing decisions need to balance competitiveness and margin. Customer asks need to be considered against the total value of the relationship. And investment is increasingly spread across stores, ecommerce, retail media and activation.
The risk is that these decisions are managed individually rather than as part of one connected commercial strategy.
A promotional decision here. Additional customer investment there. A pricing concession to protect volume. A negotiation to resolve the next immediate issue.
Each decision may appear commercially reasonable in isolation. Collectively, they can erode value.
The negotiation starts earlier than we think
By the time teams reach the formal negotiation, much of the commercial outcome may already have been shaped.
The category opportunity has been defined. Pricing, pack, mix and promotional choices have been made. Customer investment has been allocated. The account plan has established what the business wants to achieve.
For Sales Directors, the opportunity is therefore bigger than simply building stronger negotiators.
It is ensuring teams can connect the disciplines that influence the commercial outcome, from Category Strategy and Revenue Growth Management through to Customer Planning, Selling and Negotiation.
Because winning today’s commercial conversation requires more than just negotiation.
Powering supplier confidence™ across the complete commercial conversation
This is the broader commercial conversation TNG helps suppliers navigate.
We work with 13 of the world’s top 20 FMCG organisations and have been supporting FMCG suppliers since 2009.
While negotiation remains part of our DNA, our work spans the complete commercial conversation, helping teams Create the Value, Convert the Value and Capture the Value through Category & Channel Strategy, Revenue Growth Management, Route to Market, Customer Planning & Selling and Negotiation.
Our team is made up of senior FMCG industry experts with real-world commercial experience practitioners who understand the realities behind the decisions commercial teams make every day.
That depth of experience gives us the flexibility to work across different markets, categories, channels and commercial challenges, tailoring our approach to the supplier and the capability required rather than applying a one-size-fits-all solution.
Because protecting value isn’t simply about negotiating harder.
It’s about giving teams the commercial capability and confidence to make better decisions across the entire commercial conversation.
Total Negotiation Group is a Silver Partner of the Drinks Association.