Consulting Services
There are few business activities where so much is placed in the hands of so few for such a short time for the sole purpose of producing a profit. This is often the last opportunity to imporve margins and ROI. Yet the few who represent the company in these pivotal moments of opportunity are often overlooked when deciding where to invest to further improve profitability.
Our consulting services have benefited clients in negotiations ranging from a few hundred thousand dollars to over $600 million. We believe every negotiation has the potential to be a pivotal moment of great opportunity. To capitalize on these pivotal moments negotiating teams need to be skilled and prepared.
To that end we:
- Assist management in identifying the talented few
- Train the talented few to maximize economic & relationship outcomes
- Assist in preparing the few to capitalize on these pivotal moments
Identifying The Talented Few
Creating consistently winning teams and outcomes begins with picking the key team members. The first is the team's chief spokesperson. The second, and equally important, is the team's chief strategist. Winning outcomes require that these key team members focus the entirety of their attention on very different activities as the negotiation moves forward.
While you probably not heard of the position of chief strategist it is required for the same reason safety demands that certain planes have a co-pilot. A pilot that is overloaded focusing their attention on the check list and the instrument panel, cannot maintain the view required to line up the aircraft with approaching runway.
To the extent the chief spokesperson immerses himself or herself in the give and take, he or she correspondingly preempts their ability to follow and execute the strategy. This is not a situation where the chief spokesperson can multitask as each task requires a person's full attention - a person can do one or the other but not both.
Superior outcomes require that the key team members bring very different skill sets and temperament to the negotiation. We use a professional assessment to identify the individuals who can excell in executing different but essential roles.
While you probably not heard of the position of chief strategist it is required for the same reason safety demands that certain planes have a co-pilot. A pilot that is overloaded focusing their attention on the check list and the instrument panel, cannot maintain the view required to line up the aircraft with the approaching runway.
To the extent the chief spokesperson immerses himself or herself in the give and take, he or she correspondingly preempts their ability to follow and execute the strategy. This is not a situation where the chief spokesperson can multitask as each task requires a person's full attention - a person can do one or the other but not both.
Superior outcomes require that the key team members bring very different skill sets and temperament to the negotiation. We use a professional assessment to identify the individuals who can excell in executing different but essential roles.
Training the Talented Few
Once the individuals who will fill these roles are identified, we train them to:
- Correctly identify the issues
- Develop custom strategies to deal with each issue
- Identify the interests underlying each issue
- Identify and deal with their opponent's Default Styles™
Preparing the Team for A Negotiation
In preparing client teams for a specific negotiation we assist them in:
- Conducting a rigorous examination of the issues
- Identifying the opposing organization's interests
- Establishing goals
- Developing a strategy for dealing with each issue
- Strengthening arguments supporting the client's position & interest
- Crafting questions to bring forth the information needed to baragin
- Creating an opening position that will control the bargaining range
- Developing a strategic concession plan
