Training - Contract Management
Let’s be frank – contract management isn’t the most exciting aspect of procurement. After all, who likes paperwork and minutia? Most people don’t. For those in the earlier stage of their career understanding legal jargon can be daunting and negotiating the contract with the supplier, harder still. More experienced professionals might not have even been taught this core skill properly and, with a desire to focus on more exciting activities, try to steer clear of contracts whenever possible.
Robust contracts are a key tool to manage your suppliers and minimise risk. So, like them or loathe them, you need to be good at them. Following some simple steps and with a bit of practice, I’ll show you that contract management isn’t nearly as arduous as you might think.
If you’re a Head of Procurement or Procurement Director you might have different needs. Perhaps you’re unhappy with the low level of spend under contract, the poor accessibility of contracts or that the full contract value isn’t derived. As a Procurement Director I’ve had this challenge myself and have some god ideas of how to help you.
Training - Contract Management
Let’s be frank – contract management isn’t the most exciting aspect of procurement. After all, who likes paperwork and minutia? Most people don’t. For those in the earlier stage of their career understanding legal jargon can be daunting and negotiating the contract with the supplier, harder still. More experienced professionals might not have even been taught this core skill properly and, with a desire to focus on more exciting activities, try to steer clear of contracts whenever possible.
Robust contracts are a key tool to manage your suppliers and minimise risk. So, like them or loathe them, you need to be good at them. Following some simple steps and with a bit of practice, I’ll show you that contract management isn’t nearly as arduous as you might think.
If you’re a Head of Procurement or Procurement Director you might have different needs. Perhaps you’re unhappy with the low level of spend under contract, the poor accessibility of contracts or that the full contract value isn’t derived. As a Procurement Director I’ve had this challenge myself and have some god ideas of how to help you.
Course Prospectus
Training - Pure Negotiation
This course kicks off with a reminder that we can all negotiate. In fact, we’ve been doing it from when we first appeared into the World and burst out crying. And for those of you who are parents or have young nephews or nieces you’ll know just how good children are at it. My two daughters are experts at eliciting telly out of me and my wife and they adapted their devious techniques to win us over to get a cat. They succeed - this is mischievous Scout!
During the course my aim is to help attendees discover ways to maximise their natural style. I’ll show how a quiet, considered negotiator can be just as effective as someone with a hard-nosed approach. And we’ll see that whilst there is a time and place to be tough and commercial, by understanding the other party's position and asking some amazing questions both sides can achieve what they need.
I encourage attendees to practice on a daily basis in their home lives and am delighted when they update me with tales of their excellent results.
Benefits
I'm not going to write a long spiel about the benefits of negotiation and there are lots of options for you to choose from in the market place.
I will just say that my course dovetails particularly well with three other modules I run - The Procurement Process, Category Management and Cost Modelling. Clients often ask me to run these modules as a bundle.
Other Details
Course Material
Attendees will receive a full training pack containing a summary of content from the day as well as copies of all case studies and your negotiation video.
Trainer
Frost, Procurement Adventurer
Course length
1 day
Location
Typically, clients like to host the training on their own site. I get asked to train all round the World and I'll head to where you'd like to be. From time-to-time I run a course open to people from non-competing businesses in a fixed location.
Cost
Depending on your specific needs and on request
Client Feedback
"I've done other negotiation courses in the past. This is by far and away the best one I've done - Simon has so many examples and top tips. The case studies and being videoed really bring it it to life. Thank you!"
Bryan Worth - Head of Procurement, Freshpak
"Simon gave me the confidence to give negotiation a go and develop my own personal style. His advice is very good and the case studies were excellent. I can put the course to use straight away at work and in my home life."
Jamie Wilson - Head of Finance, Tails
"Having never negotiated at work before, Simon taught me so much how to get it right both during the training and on trips to suppliers overseas. He's a master of his craft!"
Kate Bowman - Procurement Expert, Huel
Course Prospectus
The course is a fun and highly interactive day blending theory, many examples and two role-play case studies. I create both case studies uniquely for your business. The second case study is videoed which gives the attendees invaluable insights into their style.
Course Level
This course is pitched at procurement specialists to procurement managers. Budget owners, particularly in indirect spend, often join too and Heads of Procurement sometimes join for a refresh.
Sectors covered
The techniques covered work across direct and indirect spend.
Learning Objectives
The overall objective is for you to have a good grasp of negotiation concepts and techniques and have the confidence to apply them in a way that works for your natural style.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
-
Understand the negotiation process and key negotiation concepts
-
Adapt your approach to different types of negotiation
-
Research, prepare and plan for the negotiation
-
Play different roles in the negotiation
-
Understand the concept of breakpoints and how to set them
-
Open the negotiation
-
Give and receive offers
-
Create and trade variables
-
Make different types of move
-
Ask brilliant questions
-
Listen better than you’ve ever listened before
-
Choose appropriate language
-
Watch for and interpret verbal queues, body language and other signals
-
Work towards and then close a deal
-
Apply a range of tricks of the trade
-
Know how to respond if these tricks are played on you
-
Tailor your response to different characters you might meet
-
Manage your energy and state
-
Apply different communication methods (face to face, email, telephone)
-
Appreciate and read different cultural styles of negotiating