Negotiation Skills

Available in-house UK-wide

Negotiations can take many forms, and can determine everything from an individual sale to organisational strategy. This course explores the negotiation process from beginning to end, and provides a set of techniques for maximising outcomes whilst building great, long-term relationships.

Adapted to your group's needs and delivered at your offices

UK-wide

About the course

Course overview

Negotiation can be a tough and demanding process. With two parties often pulling in opposite directions it can seem like someone has to lose out. But negotiation doesn’t have to be a contest of wills. It can also be an opportunity to build mutually beneficial relationships and trust.

Our negotiating skills training course covers the fundamentals of the entire negotiation process from beginning to end. You will learn the key stages that successful negotiators move through, how to build rapport and strong working relationships and how to identify when a successful outcome has been achieved. 

You will also build a repertoire of practical tactics to help you influence and persuade effectively, and will learn how to defuse conflict quickly.

The course will help you manage your dealings with others in a way the enables you to retain control – even when dealing with difficult or aggressive negotiators.

You will also have a unique opportunity to assess your personal negotiating style, with expert feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your approach.

This negotiating skills training course offers an invaluable toolkit to help you become a more successful negotiator. Anyone whose work involves influencing and persuading others would benefit from this course.

Key details

By the end of this course, delegates will:

  • Have greater confidence in their professional negotiations
  • Be able to identify the elements of effective communication
  • Understand the methods and goals of win-win negotiations
  • Learn effective preparation skills
  • Learn assertive influencing techniques
  • Understand and practice the stages of principled negotiation
  • Be able to identify their unique style and how it can be best adapted to handle difficult scenarios
  • Know powerful techniques to maintain control of their negotiations
  • Practice dealing with their most challenging negotiation challenges
  • Learn to handle difficult negotiators
  • Try out new techniques in a safe, supportive environment

1. Dealing with tough negotiators and with conflict

You don’t need to be aggressive to be a successful negotiator, but some people use this tactic to bully others into accepting their terms. During this course you will learn how to deal with aggressive negotiators by quickly establish a disarming rapport. You will build a range of skills to help you spot and quickly defuse conflict if it arises. During the Negotiation Skills training course you will learn how to control the tone of the negotiation as well as its course.

2. Understanding the impact of your personal style

You will have an opportunity to assess your own behavioural traits with guidance from your trainer, gaining an understanding of how they can impact on your negotiations. By modifying certain behaviours you will be able to improve your personal impact and increase your negotiation effectiveness. This can be an eye-opening experience!

3. Understanding the value of planning

Planning for a negotiation is often the key to success or failure. Knowing what your goals are before you set out and how you intend to reach them is essential to achieving your desired results. You will learn how to plan, execute and close your negotiations with confidence and within a structure that will ensure you are not side-tracked, or lured into accepting unfavourable outcomes.

4. Practising your negotiation skills

The Negotiation Skills training course provides plenty of time to practise and develop your new skills through interactive challenges and exercises. Not only will you get a chance to try out the negotiation techniques you learn, but you will also learn from others in your group and gain constructive feedback from the trainer.

This course is suitable for anyone who has to negotiate as part of their jobs.

This could include commercial and sales negotiations, those centred around goal-setting and planning, or those focused on allocation of resources. In fact, this course provides useful tools for those involved in any form of negotiation conversation as part of their roles.

In-house courses can be adapted to focus on specific areas or forms of negotiation to suit delegate needs.

Track record

“Wonderful day. Filled me with positive energy and feeling very motivated at a much needed time.”
Delegate, John Lewis Partnership

“Great learning experience, but more importantly, I feel I can use what I’ve learnt in everyday life – work, home and personal.”
Marketing Manager, Life Fitness

“Very engaging and interactive. [The trainer] was superb.”
Director, Advertising Standards Agency

“I am noticeably more confident and self-aware since I took part in the course and feel empowered to develop my career in a way that plays to my strengths.”
Scientist, British Antarctic Survey

“I learnt a lot from the day. Lots of ideas to return to the office with. Very much enjoyed the course and the fantastically knowledgeable trainer.”
Delegate, Iris Accountancy Solutions

Cambridge Exec clients - leadership

Additional learning resources

Post-course support

We understand that your professional development doesn’t end when you walk out of the classroom. The time you’ve put in will only make a real impact if your learning is carried into the way you work. That’s why we offer post-course support in implementing your new skills, for as long as required. Your trainer is available to discuss problems, provide advice or offer feedback until you feel confident on your own.

In-house courses at your offices

If you have any questions or if you would like to speak to one of our trainers about how this course could work for your organisation please get in touch. We can deliver the course at your offices, anywhere in the UK – and beyond.

In most cases we can provide an all-inclusive quote to cover design, delivery and materials with some basic information:

  • Which course you are interested in
  • Where the course would take place
  • How many delegates need to be trained

Just drop us a line with these basic facts and we’ll get back to you with a no-obligation quote on the same day.