Negotiation Skills

Overview

The ability to negotiate well is both a key business and life skill. Most of us regardless of the position we hold, or the type of business we work in, find ourselves constantly negotiating on an almost daily basis. It has been said that ‘there is no easier place in the commercial process to make or lose money than at the negotiation table.’ Therefore a good deal of time and effort could be saved and much unpleasantness avoided if people exercised greater skill when negotiating.

This Short Course is an opportunity for you to:

• Analyse your own strengths and improve your negotiation skills
• Understand the various types of negotiations in which you may be involved: formal, informal, situational, positional or principled
• Learn tried and tested methods of preparing for and implementing negotiations to achieve successful outcomes
• Discover what points to watch for when negotiating a contract or deal
• Distinguish negotiation from bargaining

Topics Covered

Day 1

• Types of formal negotiation
• Distinguishing negotiation from bargaining
• Understanding the ‘Negotiation Model’
• Preparing for negotiation
• The five phases of negotiation in practice
• Case Study 1, in which participants will negotiate an outcome to the scenario provided
• Analysis and discussion of outcomes

Day 2

• Essential negotiation skills
• Questioning and listening skills
• Understanding time, power and knowledge in negotiation
• Identifying the personality types of other negotiators
• Negotiating with difficult people; when to cooperate and when to compete
• How to form an efficient negotiating team
• Points to watch when negotiating a contract or deal
• Case Study 2
• Analysis and discussion of outcomes
• Course review and personal Action Plans.

Who should attend

• Anyone in a management position; salespeople and purchasing officers.
• Those who are called upon to negotiate with staff, management or colleagues, customers, clients, suppliers, Legislative Bodies or Trade Unions.
• In short, anyone who has to negotiate on the myriad issues which arise in both the marketplace and the workplace

Outcomes

You will learn how to:

• Develop essential questioning and listening skills
• Prepare for negotiation using a tested and tried framework
• Conduct a successful negotiation
• Analyse and review outcomes for use in future negotiations

This Short Course is highly participative in nature as you will be involved in two case study exercises, forming teams, preparing and conducting actual negotiations based on the scenarios provided.