Best Practice Preparation: How Purchasing Training Helps To Find The Key Factor To Unlock A Successful Negotiation

Nearly all negotiators greatly underrate the 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 understand the context is a great place to start preparing for negotiations.

Some of the key elements to think about are:

- What is the nature of the transaction in terms of risks involved, the level of expenditure and the difficulty of the transaction?

- Competitive analysis: What is the current position of the market and what options do the other side have available? We will approach a sole supplier differently than those in a competitive market.

- Is it a single deal or should we think about securing a long-term positive relationship that develops opportunities for future business?

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

- How accomplished are the negotiators on the other side of the table?

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

- Who are all the parties & individuals involved in the transaction and what is the decision process? A diversified style is needed as final decision makers will certainly be interested in Return on Investment and increased revenues & margins. The end user who looks for improved productivity and efficiency will find the financial elements almost totally immaterial.

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

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

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

Price and Payments: The competition and the difficulty of most business deals demand finding ways to create additional value and to move negotiation from haggling to mutually beneficial and creative joint problem solving. Professional buyers are not charged with getting the most affordable solution but rather with providing their businesses with the cheapest total cost of ownership, which is composed of things like:

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

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

Key Obligations: Ensure your product and services are defined and show 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 as agreed?

Warranties: In order to maintain trust and credibility ensure that you deliver any promises.

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

- Who is footing the bill for the Research and Development?

- Could the product development be utilised by competitors to your disadvantage 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 elements in a contract. Cultural consideration is critical. In Asian countries the goal of negotiation is not a signed contract. In China, unforeseen events are settled through the relationship.

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

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