Negotiation is one of those under-rated management skills that has become increasingly essential in business and organizations of all kinds. At once, it can be a great reputation enhancer (when the negotiator appears to achieve the “impossible”) but it can also bring the direct opposite if deals fail – or results do not reach the organization’s expectations.

This training course provides an essential insight into deal-making strategies that can help bridge the gap between “barely acceptable” and a “winning result”. In a “no risk” environment, participants will learn from an acknowledged leader in the field, returning to work with a clear personal action plan for their continuing development.

Learning Objectives

• Define, prepare for, and achieve success in varying/high profile negotiated deals.
• Recognize the power to be gained from “bridging gaps” in proposals and dispute resolution.
• Manage conflict successfully by choosing from 5 different coping strategies.
• Prepare and defend against the tactics and ploys of other teams.
• Use power, determination, and firmness to gain a vital edge in debate and bargaining.
• Reduce the risk of implementation failure in agreements by learning from own experience and that of others.

Target Audience

This training course will be most appropriate for personnel who must lead negotiation strategies – as well as sales professionals, purchasing agents, and marketing representatives who need a greater insight into negotiation skills.

Training Methodology

This is a highly interactive training course – with many opportunities for participants to try out the techniques and ideas discussed, in practical exercises and simulations. This “no risk” environment creates an enjoyable atmosphere of challenge and fun, matched with considerable opportunities for sharing experiences, coaching through giving, and receiving, feedback.

Course Contents

Module 1 - The Why and How of Negotiation

• Key Topics:
  • Personal impact factors contributing to the ability to persuade and convince others.
  • Nine widely used techniques to build personal influence.
  • Alternatives to negotiation – saving time and money.
  • Common reasons for poor negotiation agreements
  • Profile of the skilled negotiator – and how to achieve this status.
  • Cultural and international aspects – and how negotiations may be affected.
  • Vital phases for a successful negotiation activity – how to achieve excellence.
  • Planning objectives – thinking about movement, the case and the other party’s limitations and motives.
  • Practical negotiating “one-to-one”
  • Personal assessment through the power of observation – giving and receiving feedback.

Module 2 - How to “Bridge the Gap” and Handle Obstacles

• Key Topics:
  • Building flexibility into Proposals
  • Opening gambits – starting a negotiation and creating an appropriate atmosphere
  • Methods of creating (and destroying) trust
  • Needs analysis – the way of underpinning or diluting power.
  • Eight tactics to help progress the agreement.
  • Using concessions – without expressing weakness
  • Establishing the bargaining atmosphere
  • Analyzing power in bargaining – dependency and relationships
  • How to break an impasse?
  • Factors that affect perception in negotiation
  • Practical negotiating in pairs – hazards and advantages
  • The power of observation – giving and receiving feedback
  • A personal inventory of interactive and persuasion skills

Module 3 - Negotiating Through Conflict Situations

• Key Topics:
  • Push/pull styles of communication and persuasion – which do we use?
  • Coping with stereo-typical behavior – how salespeople and buyers are trained in avoiding “deal-busters.”
  • Non-verbal communication – reading, analyzing and causal behavior.
  • Facilitating the use of problem-solving approaches
  • Positional v. principal approaches to negotiation
  • Patterns of conflict and countermeasures
  • What to do when conflict is threatening – 5 approaches to handling it together with guidance on behavior for: our side, the opposition and methods of organization
  • Setting new objectives in a changing environment
  • Task v. People Centered negotiators – focus for activity.
  • Practical exercises of greater complexity

Module 4 - Team Negotiation Strategies in the “Real” World

• Key Topics:
  • Roles in a team – selection and organization
  • Individuals and their needs
  • Best practice – team size and control factors
  • Effective goal setting and team strategy
  • Team negotiation – advantages and constraints
  • Methods of creating commitment and team cohesion
  • Opportunities for competitive behavior
  • The psychological “game” – using/avoiding deeper influencing skills and discomfiting tactics in longer term relationships.
  • Forming and changing the team – effects on strategy and results
  • Practical exercises of greater complexity

Module 5 – Skilled Negotiators Learn from Experience

• Key Topics:
  • Achieving personal and organizational success
  • Techniques for ensuring transfer of learning to the “real” world.
  • Self-improvement factors – e.g., concentration, attention, listening, focus
  • Scaling results – through the personal diary
  • Personal tactics – from “shopping list agenda to broad front negotiation
  • How to learn from opponents and organizations
  • Continuing development through personal action plans and personal checklists