I listened to a well-respected Procurement podcast recently, and one of the comments made by the host, an eminent member of the Procurement profession, was startling, but it did resonate with me.

The comment in question was made by Jonathan O’Brien, founding member and CEO of Positive Purchasing and host of The Procurement Show podcast. O’Brien stated that one of the most fundamental aspects of a negotiation is to build rapport with the other party (a point with which I wholeheartedly agree) but he went on to say that while salespeople are trained specifically on this critical skill, he felt that Procurement professionals are lagging behind.

In a process so critical to successful negotiation outcomes and one that involves people-to-people interactions, with a deep need for bringing high levels of emotional intelligence to the fore, why is it that Procurement professionals are deficient in this area?

When I think of some of the salespeople I’ve dealt with over the years, more often than not they have demonstrated strong rapport-building skills: listening attentively, showing a genuine interest in helping me solve my problems, and bringing a sense of fun to some otherwise dry and/or thorny discussion topics (I’m a “yellow” personality type btw, so I need that fun element!)

While several of my Procurement colleagues have also reaped the benefits of great rapport-building skills, these have mostly been innate skills, rather than something they’ve been taught and honed.

The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (“CIPS”) identified the top 5 skills required by Procurement professionals, 3 of which (supplier relationship management, communication and influencing) imply a strong dependency on being able to build rapport.

Establishing rapport with a counterpart is the cornerstone of achieving a successful negotiation outcome, maintaining a constructive long-term business relationship and being able to persuade and influence someone to your way of thinking. This skill simply should not be left to chance.

If you’re in Procurement or not (it really doesn’t matter) and you would like to develop your rapport-building skills, please do get in touch. My Persuasion and Influencing course could equip you with the knowledge that gives you the edge.

The best days lie ahead.

Martin