Course Outcomes

This web-based negotiation training course will:

  • Provide a solid overview of the negotiation process.
  • Review common terms and vocabulary used in negotiation planning.
  • Assess negotiation styles and people styles.
  • Suggest a negotiation framework.
  • Review negotiation planning, process, and timing.
  • Offer guidance around asking questions and probing for information.
  • Explore often used tactics and tricks.

Course Overview

This virtual classroom series is designed for salespeople who routinely negotiate.  The program comprises six 90-minute to 2-hour sessions and is facilitated using the Adobe Connect virtual training platform. The course includes a pre-training assignment and homework between sessions. Ideally, the sessions are scheduled and delivered every one to three weeks.

Session One: The Negotiator’s Landscape

In preparation for this session, participants will answer several pre-work questions. They will also complete a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of their current negotiation skills and position.

The course kicks off with a discussion about planning and understanding what you have, what you want, what your negotiation partner wants and has to offer, what else exists to meet each party’s needs, and the time by which you must close a deal.

Segment Modules
  • Articulating Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
  • Considering the Client Landscape Through Three Lenses
    • Profitability and Volume
    • Profitability and Ease of Service
    • Power and Interest
  • Creating the Ideal Client Profile
  • Knowing the Importance of Research and Where to Find Information
  • Selecting Long-Term and Short-Term Account Strategies
Homework
  • Draw a diagram of your current negotiation process and submit it to the facilitator before the next session.
  • Complete the negotiation styles profile.

 

Session Two: The Negotiator’s Process

When you closely follow a good recipe, most of the time the end result is pretty good.  Negotiation is much the same way, if you pay attention and follow all parts of the process, the outcome is usually good.  When people find themselves in trouble or stuck in a “not-so-hot” agreement, the culprit usually has something to do with skipping a step, failing to ask questions, or not thinking through the practical side of how a deal will work after an agreement is signed.  This segment covers negotiation outcomes, processes, and understanding what’s negotiable.

Segment Modules
  • Reviewing Negotiation Outcomes and When Each Makes Sense
  • Examining the Process
  • Determining What Is Negotiable
  • Understanding MAPs, BATNAs, and ZOPAs
  • Working Through a Case Study
Homework
  • Complete a negotiation planning sheet for your next negotiation.
  • Complete the communication styles profile. 

 

Session Three: The Negotiator’s Power

Information is power, and you can’t get information if you don’t listen and ask good questions. Unfortunately, many negotiators prefer to talk. This session focuses on rapport-building techniques, listening skills, questioning abilities, and summarizing steps.  During this segment, participants will also learn how to open a conversation, sequence issues, adopt a persuasion strategy, and strategically divulge information.

Segment Modules
  • Understanding People Styles
  • Using Open-Ended Questions
  • Reflecting and Summarizing What Others Say
  • Harnessing the Power of Persuasion
  • Examining Persuasion Channels
  • Working to Split 200 Cents
Homework
  • Make a list of questions for your next negotiation.
  • Create an opening statement.

 

Session Four: The Negotiator’s Systems

Skilled negotiators leave little to chance.  They work methodically and document where they are in their negotiations.  In this part of the course, we will look at how to open conversations and frame discussions; the pros, cons, and idiosyncrasies of negotiating in person, on the telephone, and in writing; tactics for working through disagreements; how to make and monitor concessions, and documentation tips.

Segment Modules
  • Choosing the Right Communication Medium
  • Working Through Disagreements
  • Recognizing That “Yes” Doesn’t Always Equal Agreement
  • Avoiding the Pitfall of Hidden Assumptions
  • Making and Monitoring Concessions
  • Documenting Discussions
Homework
  • Comment on a case study.

 

Session Five: The Negotiator’s Tactics

Two negotiators can work together to prepare a strategy and yet get very different results when they sit at the negotiation table.  Why and what happens? Preparation is only part of the process.  Good negotiators understand that negotiation is fluid and the calculus of a discussion is constantly changing.  This session looks at over 20 negotiation tactics and when to use them.  The segment also addresses dirty tricks and how to respond to them, handling different kinds of decision making, saying “no,” and driving toward a close.

Segment Modules
  • Understanding Tactics and Tricks
  • Looking at How Managers Make Decisions
  • Learning to Say “No”
  • Using Closing Techniques 
Homework
  • Use at least two tactics in an upcoming negotiation.

 

Session Six: The Negotiator’s Servicing Skills

Both parties signed the contract, and everything was fine.  Right?  Maybe, or maybe not.  Reaching an agreement is not the destination in negotiation.  This final segment focuses on servicing agreements, managing scope creep, and keeping the door open for renegotiation.  We will begin by reviewing the importance of agreeing to a course of action for addressing “surprises” before signing a deal.  Next, we will talk about common problems that occur and how to mitigate them.

Segment Modules
  • Laying the Foundation for Managing Issues Before a Contract Is Signed
  • Determining Service Milestones
  • Choosing a Schedule for Checking in with Clients
  • Managing Failures on Your End
  • Managing Failures of Theirs
  • Addressing Scope Creep

By the conclusion of this six-session program, participants should have a well-rounded understanding of how they can determine what they have and what they want, prepare for a negotiation, frame a discussion, work through disagreement, employ various tactics, and set up in an agreement in such a way that it works as intended after a deal is signed.