Competitive Dialogue – Negotiation in the Public Sector

Due to EU Procurement directives, in many instances negotiation does not occur in Public Sector Procurement. Does this mean that Procurement practitioners within the Public Sector don’t negotiate? Absolutely not! We are all constantly negotiating, be that with internal Stakeholders, colleagues, Supply chain etc. More importantly where Procurement is aligned with the Procurement Directives i.e. in lower areas of spend and through Competitive Dialogue, negotiation is critical.

This course will arm Public Sector  Procurement delegates with some fundamental negotiation skills ranging from Preparation and Planning, tools and techniques on behavioural skills (including Persuasion / influencing / conditioning etc), all of which will add value on a daily basis throughout their career.

Delegates from the Procurement team along with any other functions who want to learn more about negotiation to enable them to deliver better results, both with internal and external Stakeholders.

People who want to learn the basics of a structured approach to negotiation and the tool / methods they can use to achieve the best possible outcomes and results.

To ensure that all delegates are able to:

•  Fully appreciate the difference between Tactical and Strategic Procurement and how to treat different situations appropriately.
•  Use Market Segmentation tools, Supply Positioning and Supplier Preferencing in a real negotiation situation.
•  Understand their own negotiation style and recognise the styles of others. To be able to flex and adapt their negotiation style in various situations.
•  Be familiar and understand the stages of a negotiation.
•  Gain knowledge on the behavioural aspects of a negotiation.

Our trainers are all FCIPS / MCIPS qualified teachers who have extensive experience of Negotiations across numerous industries and within the Public Sector, including Local Authorities, Civil Service, NHS, Education and others . Collectively our training team have delivered across all levels to hundreds of delegates, both domestic and Global, over the last decade.

The course will be extremely participative and exercise driven, with many relevant examples and anecdotes provided to bring practice and theory to life.

Upon completion of this course every delegate will be able to:

• Accurately segment and position different products / service areas and Supplier relationships to determine their negotiation strategy and style.
• Prepare and plan thoroughly and effectively for a negotiation considering elements such as Market conditions, Balance of Power etc. We will undertake a number of exercises in this area allowing delegates to apply their own Organisation and Category areas.
•  Have a familiarity with Persuasion and Influencing techniques and be able to use them and “read” them in others.
•  Recognise “conditioning” to nullify its effect and utilise it themselves to optimise their position.
• Be flexible in their negotiation approach depending on each situation