Best Practice Planning: Using Purchasing Training To Uncover The Key Factor To Unlock A Successful Negotiation

Most negotiators greatly underrate the amount of time required to prepare for any business negotiation even though this is a critical part of business negotiation best practice.

Using your negotiation skills to analyse the negotiation environment is a great place to start preparing for negotiations.

Some of the key elements to think about are:

- What is the nature of the sale/purchase in terms of risks involved, the level of expenditure and the difficulty of the deal?

- Competitive analysis: What is the current position of the market and what options do our counterparties have at their disposal? We will approach a sole supplier differently than those in a competitive market.

- Is it a one-off deal or should we think about maintaining a long-term positive relationship that develops alternatives for future trade?

- Have we concluded any transactions with our counterparty in the past and what is their most likely approach to doing business?

- How accomplished are the negotiators on the other side?

- What cultures will be represented and what are the local traditions?

- Who are all the groups & persons involved in the transaction and what is the decision making process? A diversified tactic is needed as final decision makers will very often be interested in Return on Investment and increased revenues & margins. The end user who looks for better output and efficiency will find the financial elements almost totally irrelevant.

Almost any negotiation training course will highlight the importance of setting formal deal objectives.

If we fail to plan and prioritise our deal objectives we put ourselves at risk of being taken advantage of and/or ending with a sub-optimal conclusion. Whether you are involved in negotiation on the sales or purchasing side, consider the following factors when preparing for negotiation:

- Price and payment, Key responsibilities, Delivery, Warranties, Intellectual property and Risks.

Price and Payments: The competition and the complexity of most business deals demand finding methods to develop additional value and to move negotiation from haggling to synergistic and creative joint problem solving. Professional buyers are not charged with getting the cheapest solution but rather with providing their businesses with the cheapest total cost of ownership, which is made up of things like:

- Purchase price, Maintenance costs, The cost of use, Training costs, Supplier performance metrics, Delivery, Quality and Client Support. (These concepts are covered in most purchasing training programmes).

If we are able to lessen the other side's costs in the entire life cycle of the product, solution or service and simultaneously provide value for money, we are in a better position to find common ground.

Key Obligations: Ensure your product and services are defined and reflect your priorities. Include all the relevant quantities and specifications.

Delivery: How key are the delivery timelines and what happens if the delivery doesn't take place on time?

Warranties: In order to maintain trust and credibility ensure that you can live with any promises.

Intellectual property: Carefully negotiate IP ownership rights and think about the following factors:

- Who is paying for the Research and Development?

- Could the product development be utilised by competitors to your loss if you don' t own the IP? How can you prevent competitors to use the same IP?

Risks: The best way to manage exposure is to include the factors in a written contract. Cultural consideration is critical. In Asian countries the goal of negotiation is not a signed contract. In China, unforeseen events are resolved through the relationship.

Analysing the above elements are important in planning Concession Strategies that will assist you to leverage maximum value from trades and in planning meetings optimally.

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