I hope that you enjoyed the article \u201cWhy To Hate Fact-Based Negotiation, Part I.\u201d<\/p>\n
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When people talk about old-school procurement negotiation, they often paint a picture of a crusty old guy pounding on the table and yelling at a supplier to lower its price or else. \u00a0While I\u2019m glad that stereotype no longer represents how modern procurement negotiation is done, I\u2019m not exactly pleased with the fact-based negotiation style that seems destined to become the fodder for procurement humor a couple of decades from now.<\/p>\n
As procurement and finance have become intertwined in many respects \u2013 and that\u2019s generally a good thing \u2013 one consequence is that procurement people have been increasingly driven by numbers, numbers, numbers. \u00a0Nothing but numbers. \u00a0\u201cIf it can\u2019t be entered into a spreadsheet, it has no place in procurement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most things are usually\u00a0best in moderation. \u00a0And number-centric procurement thinking is like most things.<\/p>\n
Executive leadership and sales aren\u2019t always so numbers-driven. \u00a0Especially, as I pointed out, when an executive leader is the founder of the supplier and serving in a selling role.<\/p>\n
These people live to win. \u00a0In some cases, they are dying<\/em> to win.<\/p>\n They revel in the thrill of the hunt \u2013 the hunt for new clients, new business, new revenue. \u00a0Sure, the numbers matter. \u00a0But the numbers are not the be-all, end-all of their world.<\/p>\n So, numbers \u2013 particularly your estimated cost calculations \u2013 shouldn\u2019t be the be-all, end-all of your negotiation strategy. \u00a0Tap into the emotion of your supplier counterpart. \u00a0Display emotion on your face, in your voice. \u00a0That doesn\u2019t mean to put fist to table or ratchet up the decibels of your speech.<\/p>\n But communicate artfully along with the presentation of your science. \u00a0Part II of this series will arrive in two weeks \u2013 stay tuned!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I hope that you enjoyed the article \u201cWhy To Hate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-procurement"],"yoast_head":"\n