Is It Worth Investing In Negotiation Skills?
I spent 26 years in Procurement roles for multi-national companies, managing direct and indirect categories. I’ve conducted a huge number of negotiations buying directs and indirects categories, plus all the negotiations with internal stakeholders, of course. Such fun.
I saved money, mitigated price increases (negotiation 101) but my negotiation skills also helped me to mitigate risk (like when a supplier who became financially unstable, and a supplier whose quality was deteriorating), created more value (additional services such as training and software upgrades negotiated as part of a machinery agreement) and strengthened the buyer/supplier relationship so that my company became customer of choice to a supplier who developed industry-leading innovations.
You see, negotiation skills can unlock so much more than just a price benefit for your company.
I train Procurement teams in companies of all sizes, all industries and all geographical locations in effective and practical negotiation skills. [See my bio].
““I saved £2mn by using what I learnt on Martin’s Advanced Negotiation Skills course. ””
Despite there being a compelling ROI on investing in developing effective negotiation skills [which I calculate as easily an ROI of 20x - see my ROI calculator] some companies decide to entrust individuals who may have had no formal negotiation training to “give it their best shot” (in other words, “wing it”).
When you think of the £millions at stake, the risks that Procurement manages and the value that’s available to create (or claim) in a B2B negotiation, I think it’s extraordinary that these companies “throw their Procurement professionals under the bus” by not equipping them with the right skills. It’s like playing a soccer match in carpet slippers or flying in cloud without radar! There’s value being left on the negotiation table galore.
And let’s not forget that negotiation is a skill for life, not just work. We negotiate way more than we think we do. If you have kids, you’ll be able to think of plenty of examples! Or if you ever have to buy anything for your home (or indeed, buy a home!) there are dozens of opportunities to negotiate and get a better deal.
So is it worth investing in developing negotiation skills? What do you think?
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