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Improving Purchasing Negotiation Skills 

Does negotiating make you generally apprehensive or uncomfortable?
Do you fear that the other parties will take advantage of you?
Are you concerned about getting the best possible terms when you negotiate?
Do you find yourself not knowing where to start at the negotiating table?

Negotiation is an indispensable part of the purchasing function. As a buyer, you play a critical role in the financial success or failure of your organization; therefore, the more skillfully you negotiate, the better your organization's chances for turning a profit.

One of your major functions is to negotiate the best terms and price for the materials and services your organization needs to operate. This complex task requires knowledge, tact, superior communication skills, and a solid game plan! But few people understand the 90% of all negotiations takes place before the involved parties even get to the bargaining table.

What You Will Learn

Unlike many other seminars that concentrate on techniques to be used during the end stages of negotiating, Improving Purchasing Negotiation Skills focuses on setting you up for success right from the start. You will gain valuable insights about how to prepare for your negotiation as well as strategies to employ during the meeting itself.

In short, you can take the mystery out of the negotiation process by learning some valuable, time-tested skills that can make you a more valuable asset to your company, including:

  • How to prepare for negotiations effectively

  • The ins and outs of savvy negotiating

  • The effective use of strategy and tactics

  • How to structure win/win negotiations

  • How to establish and meet negotiation objectives

  • How to negotiate for the best value and terms

  • And much, much more

Fortune Favors the Prepared Mind

In Purchasing and Supply Management, each of us is required, each and every day, to be a good negotiator. The complexity, value, risk, and importance of the product, material, or service to be negotiated will determine the scope and scale of each negotiation. Generally, a good purchasing negotiator is not "lucky" in a negotiation. Rather, the effective negotiator makes his or her own luck. "Luck" in negotiations is actually the result of hard work and good planning, not dirty tricks, cute tactics, or sleight of hand. In short, success in negotiations with suppliers will vary directly with the amount of time and effort you put into preparing.

It is also critical to remember that all negotiations cannot be handled the same way. Each one is unique. The only way to achieve your negotiation objectives is to prepare properly and to communicate effectively, knowing what techniques to employ in a given negotiation setting. This seminar is designed to provide you with a working knowledge of several basic negotiating skills, techniques, strategies, and tactics to achieve a win-win solution against even a highly-trained seller in a variety of situations.

The results you achieve at the negotiation table can also have a profound effect on your organization. The trend towards long-term partnerships, a smaller supplier base, and an emphasis on cost-effectiveness makes the buyers' ability to negotiate even more crucial to an organization's bottom line. This highly-pragmatic program, Improving Purchasing Negotiation Skills, will provide the tools to make your negotiation process more effective and profitable for your company.

Your instructor has the consulting background, practical experience, and presentation skills to make this a dynamic workshop experience for you. Take advantage of this opportunity to improve your success rating in a negotiating context; learn at least as much as the other party—supplier or salesperson—knows about the art of negotiating!

Who Should Attend

  • Buyers and Purchasers

  • Contracts and Purchasing Professionals

  • Purchasing Managers

  • Materials Managers

  • Sourcing Managers

  • Supply Management Professionals

  • Acquisition and Procurement Professionals

  • Those closely involved with the Purchasing, Sourcing, Acquisition Procurement, or Supply Management Function and who wish to expand their negotiation knowledge and skills.

Who Should Attend

At Improving Purchasing Negotiation Skills, you will learn how to:

  1. Avoid surprises—know what to expect!

  2. Know the right type of bargaining process to use in various situations.

  3. Formulate and categorize three types of objectives.

  4. Sharpen your oral, written, and listening communication skills—in a negotiation context.

  5. Plan your negotiations in three distinct phases.

  6. Develop a pre-negotiation plan and gather the essential information.

  7. Establish credibility and targets for your negotiation objectives.

  8. Determine what you need to know about your supplier.

  9. Make power and influence work for you, not against you.

  10. Use strategy, tactics, and counter-tactics effectively.

  11. Identify emotional factors and sensory-based word cues.

  12. Raise your People-Reading and Body Language IQ.

  13. Identify proven traits and skills used by a good negotiator.

  14. Use a 10-point Checklist on "knowing Your Supplier."

  15. Use a formal Pre-Negotiation Plan Checklist.

  16. Establish facts, and use them in your agenda.

  17. Prepare the meeting area, and choose your team.

  18. Learn the 3 steps of the Negotiation Planning Model.

  19. Discern the difference between price and cost analysis factors.

  20. Use the Negotiation Process Flow Checklist as a general guide.

  21. Apply these skills in an actual negotiation setting.

Program Agenda

Section 1    Negotiation—Definition and Goals

  • What Is Negotiation?

  • Negotiation Failure and Success Factors

  • What to Expect

  • Negotiation Types and Approaches

  • Attitudes, Influence, and Power

  • Readiness and Timing

Section 2    Negotiation Planning Overview and Scenarios

  • The Negotiation Planning Model

  • Where to Focus

  • Pre-Negotiation Planning Phases

  • Key Decision Areas

  • Factors that Influence Negotiation Planning

  • Negotiation Scenarios—Teams, Telephone, and Face-to-Face

Section 3    Setting Objectives and Assessing Strengths

  • The Importance of Setting Objectives

  • Good and Bad Times to Negotiate

  • Comparing Strengths—Yours and the Other Side's

  • Establishing Credibility and Targets

  • The Essence of Negotiation

  • The Negotiation Plan and Its Approval

Section 4   The Art of Communication & Personality Awareness—in a Negotiation Context

  • Written and Oral Communication

  • Opening, Closing, and Questioning

  • The Art of Listening

  • Nonverbal Communication

  • The Impact of Emotional Factors

  • Personal Styles

Section 5    Strategy—Based on Supplier Costs and Relationships

  • Know Your Supplier

  • Price and Cost Considerations

  • Types of Bargaining

  • Partnering and Collaborating

  • Preliminary Strategy and Planning

Section 6    Administrative Guidelines, Negotiation Techniques and Tactics

  • Preparing the Meeting Place and the Team

  • Agenda Tips and Techniques

  • Caucuses, Concessions, Control, & Conduct

  • Tactics and Counter-Tactics

Section 7    Summary and Conclusions

  • International Negotiations

  • Negotiation Process Flow Checklist

  • Selected Bibliography and Recommended Reading
Date: February 25-26, 2009
Time: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO
Fee: $795		  

Register Now Online
You can also register for Purchasing Negotiations or any other MDI class by calling (417) 836-5667 or 1-800-733-3203 or  E-Mail MDI@missouristate.edu. 

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