NEGOTIATIONS
Power • Process • Principles
Overview
This course is ideal for professionals involved in negotiating large-scale IT deals, from complex software and hardware procurements to managed services agreements and strategic vendor contracts. Whether you’re managing cloud migrations, securing enterprise software licenses, or negotiating IT outsourcing, this workshop equips you with the tools to protect your organization’s interests and achieve optimal outcomes. Learn how to maximize your negotiating power and leverage principles used by top IT procurement experts. Most importantly, master a structured process designed to help you achieve your objectives and secure success in the fast-paced world of IT negotiations.
Upcoming Events
Workshop Topics
Course Length: 12 Classroom Hours
Why Negotiate?
- Procure items
- Solve a problem
- Follow a directive
- Create innovation
- Combat competition
- Close a sale
- Renew a contract
- Seize an opportunity
- Improve performance
Our Challenges
- We avoid conflict
- We lack experience
- We give too much information
- We have fragmented position
- We don’t know what’s possible
- We make mistakes
- We are unprepared
- We don’t allow enough time
- We lack training, experience, skills
- We don’t have negotiating power
- We don’t use a negotiation process
- We don’t know proven principles
Overview of Solution
Power
- Comes from a variety of sources
- Can be gained, lost or given away
- Affects attitude, behavior and outcomes
- The essential important factor ?
Process
- Effective negotiation is a process, not an event
- Use in whole or in part
- It’s about project management
- Provides focus, direction, discipline, consensus and consistency
Principles
- Best practices
- Collective wisdom
- Practical, proven do’s and don’ts
- From painful learning experiences
Negotiating Power
Sources
- Control—Seven components to
manage, including:- Contract
- Emotions
- Agenda
- Alternatives
- Authority—Gain four ways
- Information—Six critical points,
including:- Information is power
- Talking = giving information
- Listening = receiving information
- The deal itself
- Opponent—Gain four different ways
- Interpersonal
Maintaining — Seven initiatives to keep power, including:
- Don’t eliminate source of power
- Don’t expose needs
- Counter opponent’s ploys
Process
Step 1: Organize
- Establish team
- Members
- Structure
- Roles—Seven pre-defined
responsibilities, including:- Emissary
- Observer
- Good cop
- Develop scope
- Identify resources
- Collect/prioritize objectives
- Types of objectives—Ten important perspectives, including:
- Results
- Functional
- Contractual
- Sources of objectives —
Eight areas to survey, including:- Executives
- Stakeholders
- Team members
- Prioritize objectives
- Types of objectives—Ten important perspectives, including:
- Establish/review governance criteria
- Policies
- Standards
- Procedures
- Form documents
Step 2: Prepare
- Schedule
- Deal completion
- Key milestones—
Five components to consider - Critical path
- Information gathering
- Internal analysis—
Five things we must determine - Industry analysis
- Analysis of opponent—
Ten important issues, including:- Deal impact on them
- Their objectives, interests and
limitations - Questions they will ask
- Internal analysis—
- Strategy
- Examples of strategies
- Strategy selection—
How to evaluate them
- Finalize Negotiation Plan
- Conduct risk analysis
- Set expectations within the team
- Develop alternatives to a negotiated deal
- Document Negotiation Plan
- Run simulation(s)
- Conduct simulation
- Review/audit the simulation
- Modify strategies and Negotiation Plan
- Obtain authority
- Team members
- Senior management
- Meeting logistics
- Site
- Ours
- Theirs
- Neutral
- Environmental factors—
Eight factors to consider,
including:- Seating
- Meeting room
- Seating arrangements
- Human factors
- Travel
- Food
- Fatigue
- Time
- Attendees
- Site
- Develop agenda
- Advantages
- Disadvantage
- Top down negotiations
- Review table team protocol—
Seven rules to follow, including:- Maintain self control
- One person speaks at a time
- Don’t hesitate to call a caucus
- Review negotiating styles
- Geared to
- Situation
- Personalities
- Objective is to communicate our ideas most effectively
- Elements of negotiating style
- Geared to
Step 3: Execute
- Meeting management
- Team member introductions
- Agenda
- Communication—Six critical issues to understand, including:
- Questioning—Six types of questions
- Listening
- Benefits of listening
- Active listening
- Barriers to listening
- Body language lab—Demonstrations and exercise
- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
- Pyramid
- Examples
- Negotiations applications
- Dealing with deadlocks and impasses—Fifteen ways to
resolve, including:- Brainstorm
- Write issue on board
- Depersonalize the issue
- Create a problem solving team
- Sit on the same side of the table
- Ploys, strategies and tactics
- How to counter ploys
- List of strategies and tactics—
Fifteen approaches to gain
advantage, including:- Zone of consideration
- Salami
- Surprise
- Quiet as a tomb
- Closing/documenting
- Statements and questions—
Eight most effective comments - Document
- Update agreement and Negotiation Plan
- Notify senior management
- Gain agreement—Four steps
- Statements and questions—
Step 4: Manage
- No ongoing relationship
- Ongoing relationship
- Monitor project plan—
Five step sub-process - Manage the agreement
- Elements to manage—
Six key components - Determine who will manage—Six functional possibilities
- Brief those who will manage
- Monitor compliance
- Document
– Compliance
– Noncompliance - Take action
- Elements to manage—
- Manage the relationship
- Determine level of management required
- Identify who will manage
- Decide what will be managed
- Monitor managed items
- Report on managed items
- Improve relationship
- Monitor project plan—
Princples
Never — Fifteen things absolutely not to do, including:
- Divulge our budget
- Reveal our schedule
- Say their price or terms are reasonable
- Let them know they’re the only option or our favorite
- Eliminate alternatives until negotiations are completed
Remember — Twenty-three critical truths we need to know, including:
- Information is power
- A good deal is about more than just the money
- If it’s not in the contract, it’s not part of the deal
