Course Overview

The process of negotiation is no longer reserved for select occasions when trying to bargain the best price with suppliers or a pay rise with upper management. Due to the increasingly connected and complicated modern international business environment, negotiation is now a more regular part of our lives, whether we know it or not.

By developing your skills as a trained negotiator, you will see improvements far outside the normal cost benefits in trade negotiations. You will start to develop better professional relationships, improve your emotional intelligence, and develop a greater understanding of the corporate world which you are a part of.

Have you ever found yourself feeling out of your depth in a high-level negotiation environment? How many times have you walked away from a client meeting feeling that you could have obtained a more successful outcome?

There could be multiple situations in your professional life that you might not immediately have assumed to be a negotiation, but within which you would have drastically benefited by having improved negotiation skills.

This Zoe training course will help you better understand exactly what negotiating means in the current corporate environment, how it can impact and improve your business relationships and will change the way you look at negotiating as a whole.

By helping you develop a structured approach to negotiations and better understand the dynamics of each unique negotiating situation, you will be able to enter all negotiations in a stronger position and emerge with a more positive outcome.

Course Objectives 

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to –

• Identify and understand the different types of negotiation techniques
• Recognise common negotiating techniques when they are being used against you
• Enter into any negotiation environment feeling confident and prepared
• Have a deeper understanding of the behavioural and personality-driven factors
• Identify techniques for conflict resolution and diffuse tension or hostility
• Encourage your peers and team members with techniques for improving their negotiation skills
• Distinguish between hard and soft styles of negotiating and understand when these are being used
• Build greater rapport with others and develop stronger professional relationships

Training Methodology 

This course will utilise a lot of interactive elements such as group work and role-play to improve your experience of using negotiation skills in relevant work environments. The training will also involve the following –

• Lectures and presentations – covering all the necessary learning that you require
• Group discussions around the key concepts
• Lessons from the field – good strategy and technique-driven case studies
• Brainstorming and strategy sessions between teams

Organisational Benefits

By encouraging your employees to participate in this course you will be impacting your organization in the following positive ways –

• Improved communication skills between teams
• Increased confidence of employees in negotiation situations
• Employee development in the areas of influencing and cooperating with others
• Greater awareness of conflict resolution techniques
• Wider use of productive discussions based on negotiating and soft skills

Personal Benefits 

By taking part in this course, you will be able to enjoy the following benefits –

• Improved negotiating skills leading to more desirable outcomes in any negotiation situation
• Greater confidence in negotiation environments leading to personal growth
• The ability to understand what others need and to achieve win-win solutions in all areas of your life
• Enhanced understanding of conflict resolution and why it is important
• Improved relationship building skills and more confidence in networking
• Being able to understand non-verbal cues and act on these accordingly
• Build trust and rapport much faster within professional environments which will ultimately lead to an improved reputation and greater cooperation

Who Should Attend?

This course would be of benefit to a wide variety of professionals, in particular –

• Executives and Senior Executives involved in high-level negotiations
• Sales teams and Sales Executives
• Managers, Supervisors and anyone involved in employee relations
• Senior employees looking for professional development
• Professionals looking to improve their negotiation and networking skills
• Entrepreneurs and Founders seeking investment, building a customer base or growing their businesses

Course Outline 

Module One – Introduction to Negotiation Skills

• What is the negotiation and why it is important?
• When it is acceptable to negotiate
• Potential benefits of successful negotiation skills
• Consequences of poor negotiation skills
• Negotiating within a modern business environment

Module Two – Understanding Negotiating Strategies

• Outline of the most common negotiating strategies
• Identifying distributive and integrative tactics
• Analysing when and how these tactics are used
• Difference between soft and hard negotiating skills
• Understanding principled negotiation tactics
• Identifying potential outcomes based on these strategies
• Cultural implications of negotiation strategies

Module Three – Negotiating Behaviour and Personality Types

• Understanding differing behaviours
• How to adapt your behaviour to suit the negotiation
• Possible outcomes and conflicts of each behaviour type
• Understanding personality types and how they influence negotiations
• How to identify and negotiate with each personality type
• Key behaviours of a skilled negotiator
• Understanding body language and non-verbal cues

Module Four – The Negotiation Stage

• Learning the four key stages of any negotiation – Prepare, Debate, Bargain, Close
• Planning your negotiation effectively
• Preparing yourself for a productive debate
• Bargaining skills to achieve your desired outcome
• Maximising the negotiation experience
• Identifying and adjusting the power balance
• The seven elements of a great negotiation

Module Five – Negotiation Success

• How to achieve a successful close
• Identify the key stages of a successful negotiation
• The importance of a win-win scenario
• Closing out the negotiation process positively and productively
• Working in cooperation to ensure productive outcomes
• Establishing and developing a continued professional relationship

Module Six – Other Negotiation Outcomes 

• Identify key final stages of an unsuccessful negotiation
• Exploring other potential outcomes (BATNA)
• Knowing when to walk away
• Understanding opponent behaviours at the closing stage
• Key next steps in case of BATNA
• Re-evaluating and reprioritising goals

Module Seven – Dealing with Difficult Negotiations

• How to identify a difficult negotiator
• Avoid key negotiation mistakes
• Identify bullying, threatening or intimidating behaviours
• Effectively adjust your style to suit the situation
• Assertiveness vs aggressiveness and how to tell the difference
• Use of emotional intelligence (EQ) skills

Module Eight – Strategic Negotiating for the Future

• Developing your strategic plan for negotiating
• Utilising your learning to prepare for different negotiation styles
• Group work and role-play to test out different outcomes
• Defining the importance of EQ and conflict resolution
• Avoiding negative negotiation experiences
• Key stages of preparation and strategic negotiation planning