PurchTips edition #418

There are a lot of ways to learn how to negotiate better. One of the simplest and most effective is to review your own past negotiations and document your lessons learned. In this edition of PurchTips, I’ll ask you to mentally explore four situations.

The purpose of this review is for you to document your negotiation lessons learned and refer to them before future negotiations. Doing so will help you negotiate better for years to come.  This exercise can also be adapted to staff meetings where all team members share their experiences for others to learn from. This can multiply the benefits for everyone!

1. Think of a time you negotiated too hard. Maybe you did damage to your relationship with the supplier that altered the way the supplier performed. Or, maybe the supplier even refused to do business with you.  What did you say that was “too hard?”  Why do you think this was inappropriate?  What should you have said differently?

2. Think of a time you didn’t negotiate hard enough. What were the signs that there was more value you could have created by negotiating harder? How much more value do you think you could have created?  What should you have done differently?

3. Think of a negotiation technique that worked multiple times. What did you say or do? What was the identical reaction that different suppliers had? Why do you think this was so effective?  Are there any situations in which you think this technique would not work?

4. Think of a negotiation technique that worked in one situation but failed in another. What did you say or do?  What were the differences in the suppliers’ reactions?  What differences in the situations made this technique work once and not another time?  When would you use it again?  When would you avoid using it again?

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