Level 1: Introductory

1. Procurement Essentials

This intensive one-day workshop provides a high level overview of the end-to-end sourcing process.

Introduction

This workshop aims to equip participants with an overview of the strategic sourcing process. It explores roles, key activities and methods used to drive value from the procurement process.

This course is designed for:

The workshop will benefit those who are involved in the procurement/sourcing process and who perform activities that are part of the sourcing process. In particular this course will benefit people who are new to procurement or sourcing or who may require a ‘refresher’.

Course structure

There will be pre- and post-workshop activities totalling about 90 minutes additional workload, as the workshop is founded upon 70/20/10 principles. The pre-workshop activity will stimulate thought about the role of a category manager in contributing to organisational results. The workshop will be led by an experienced facilitator, and will include nine sessions involving exercises, case studies, presentations and facilitated discussions. The post-workshop activity will seek to reinforce the learning and to maximise the transfer of knowledge from the workshop to the workplace.

Benefits of attending:

Attendance will help raise awareness of the sourcing process and the tools that may be used.

As well as this, delegates will gain three key benefits from attending:

• More appreciation of the importance of planning to deliver better outcomes.
• More appreciation of the tools and other resources available to support strategic sourcing.
• Awareness of ‘tips and traps’ of how to deliver a procurement process that drives outcomes and value for money.

Key learning outcomes

• Describe the strategic sourcing process and identify the ways in which value may be created (or lost) through effective (or ineffective) management of the sourcing process.
• Identify the relationships that the sourcing team need to establish with internal and external stakeholders, including category managers.
• Identify the tools and resources that are appropriate at each phase of the strategic sourcing process.
• Relate strategic sourcing and category management to the end-to-end procurement process.

2. Procurement for Non-Procurement Professionals

This workshop aims to introduce part-time participants in the procurement process to the goals, processes, tools, and techniques of procurement. It explores the basics of procurement in a jargon-free way targeted at part-time participants.

This course is designed for:

The workshop is targeted at part time participants in the procurement process, who are probably not working in a full time procurement role, but who need to manage basic procurement tasks.

Course structure

This intensive one-day workshop explores the practical skills of procurement in terms of managing low(er) value transactions and understanding the risks and opportunities in the procurement process. There will be pre- and postworkshop activities totalling about 40 minutes additional workload, as the workshop is founded upon 70/20/10 principles.

Benefits of attending

Attendance will help build understanding of the end to end procurement process.

As well as these participants will gain three key benefits from attending:

1. More appreciation of choosing the right type of specification.
2. More capability in finding and evaluating suppliers.
3. Less likelihood of the procurement process failing to deliver the intended outcomes.

Key learning outcomes

1. Describe the end to end procurement process.
2. Describe the risks and opportunities in procurement and identify the controls that are appropriate to manage the process.
3. Apply a variety of principles to simple and/or lower value acquisitions to manage acquisitions both from existing contractual solutions and when no arrangements exist.
4. Manage simple bid processes and ensure that the best solution is selected.

Course Content

The pre-workshop activity will stimulate thought about what could go wrong in the procurement process and what the opportunities might be. The workshop will be led by an experienced facilitator, and will include a number of sessions involving exercises, case studies and facilitated discussions. The post-workshop activity will seek to reinforce the learning and to maximise the transfer from the workshop to the workplace.

High Level Session Plan:

• Overview of how the procurement process can deliver value for money
• Risks and opportunities in the procurement process
• What do we need?
• Writing the specification
• Understanding suppliers and the market
• Developing a procurement plan
• Managing the bid process
• Evaluating offers and selecting the best offer
• Making sure that we get what we paid for

3. Contract Management Essentials

This workshop aims to equip participants with awareness of the essentials of contract management. It explores roles, tools, techniques and methods contract managers use to add value to contract management.

Introduction

This intensive one-day workshop explores the contract’s life-cycle, the responsibilities of key stakeholders within the life-cycle and strategies for effective contract management.

This course is designed for:

The workshop will benefit those who undertake contract management as part of their duties, and in particular people who are new to contract management or require a ‘refresher’. It is especially relevant to those who are responsible for delivering outputs or outcomes by working with external service providers.

Course structure

The pre-workshop activity will stimulate thought about the role of external service providers in contributing to departmental results. The workshop will be led by an experienced facilitator, and will include case studies, presentations and facilitated discussions.

Benefits of attending

Attendance will help raise awareness of the contract management process and the tools that may be used.

As well as this, participants will gain three key benefits from attending:

• Increased confidence and appreciation of the role of the contract manager
• Increased understanding of the tools used for contract management, including the contract management plan
• Reduces the likelihood of poor contract management causing risk, waste and/or loss for the organisation

Key learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

• Describe the Contract Management Framework and identify the ways in which value may be created or destroyed through effective contract management
• Define the role of the contract manager and understand how that role relates to other stakeholders supporting effective contract management
• Identify the tools and resources that are appropriate at each phase of contract management
• Understand what a ‘value risk’ approach to contract management means, and adopt contract management processes consistent with the risk and value profile of the contract

4. Negotiation Essentials

This workshop aims to equip participants with awareness of the negotiation process and the tools, techniques and methods negotiators use to achieve better outcomes.

Introduction

This intensive one-day workshop explores negotiation from start to finish, and the behaviours and methods that can be deployed throughout the negotiation process.

This course is designed for:

The workshop will benefit those newly involved in the negotiation process, and those who wish to refresh their appreciation of the skills and behaviours which underpin superior performance.

Course structure

A practical one-day workshop consisting of nine session involving exercises, case studies, presentations and trainer-facilitated discussions. Each of the sessions will be led by an experienced facilitator and will feature the key principles and practical methods which may be used in the negotiation process, together with practical case study sessions to maximise the transfer from the workshop to the workplace.

Benefits of attending

Attendance will improve awareness of the negotiation process and the importance of planning and preparation, as well as what to do and say at each phase of the process.

As well as this participants will gain three key benefits from attending:

1. Greater appreciation of the importance of preparation and planning to achieve better outcomes
2. Greater confidence in knowing what to do and say at each phase
3. Reduce likelihood of losing value through making elementary mistakes in the negotiation process

Key learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop delegates will be able to:

• Describe the negotiation process in terms of the end to end process and demonstrate the behaviours that are appropriate at each phase
• Conduct negotiation planning in a way that allows the organisation to define what are the key objectives and how they may be achieved
• Perform in negotiations in a way that makes realisation of negotiation objectives more likely
• Demonstrate a range of persuasion methods and behave appropriately in deploying each of them
• Describe how the negotiator may control the conduct the negotiation and demonstrate capability in performing these behaviours

Course Content

The negotiation process

• Planning for the negotiation
• Building person to person relationships
• Probing the issues
• Deploying persuasion methods
• Reaching agreement

What makes a good negotiator?

• Behaviours that help realise better outcomes
• Behaviours that are not helpful
• Understanding who has the balance of power

Planning for the negotiation

• Identifying negotiable issues
• Setting objectives
• Considering the likely range of settlement with the other party

Building person-to-person relationships

• Managing the greeting phase
• Managing the social phase
• Building rapport with the other party
• Signalling migration to the business agenda

Probing the issues

• What are our assumptions?
• What don’t we know?
• What questions may the other party ask?
• Questioning and listening skills

Deploying persuasion methods

• Using facts, data and information
• Using power, leverage or coercion
• Using bargaining with a single issue to reach agreement
• Using bargaining with multiple issues to reach a win/win outcome

Reaching agreement

• Dealing with rejection
• Managing counter-offers
• Making concessions
• Summarising the agreement

Tactics and ploys

• Ethical standards of behaviour
• Managing time effectively
• Dealing with an impasse
• Traps that may lead to poor outcomes

Controlling the negotiation

• The power of an agenda
• Controlling the questions
• Using summary as a means to get back on topic
• Parking lots, whiteboards, and timeouts

5. Contract Law Essentials

This workshop aims to equip delegates with an appreciation of the legal framework affecting contract formation, performance and termination.

Introduction

This intensive workshop explores the risks in commercial dealing and how contractual terms can help clarify rights and obligations between the parties.

This course is designed for:

The workshop will benefit those who are new to a commercial role, or who need to understand the legal framework that underpins commercial contracts.

Course structure

A practical one-day workshop consisting of nine session involving exercises, case studies, presentations and trainer-facilitated discussions. Each of the sessions will be led by an experienced facilitator and will feature the key principles and practical methods which may be used in the contracting process, together with practical case study sessions to maximise the transfer from the workshop to the workplace.

Benefits of attending

Attendance will help raise understanding of the ‘battle of the forms’ and the importance of contractual terms and conditions.

As well as this delegates will gain three key benefits from attending:

• More appreciation of the basis upon which contractual terms are agreed
• More understanding of the contractual remedies for breach of contract
• Less likelihood of exposing their organisations to contractual risk through inappropriate contractual behaviour

Key learning outcomes

• Describe the purposes of contracts under Australian contract law
• List the essential elements needed to form a contract
• Relate the legal principles to typical business exchanges between commercial entities
• Distinguish between different contract terms and describe their significance
• Demonstrate awareness of the issues in designing contracts and drafting contract terms

Course Content

Introduction – the nature of a contract and its formation

• The legally enforceable bargain
• Precedence between different contract documents
• Privity
• Misrepresentation
• Contract amendments

The shape and purpose of a contract

• The need for a contract document
• Special features of your organisation’s contracts
• Standard contract forms (if relevant)
• Other forms of contract
• The objectives of a contract, including the allocation of risk

Formation of a contract

• Pre-requisites to form a contract
• Offer
• Counter offer
• Acceptance
• Consideration

The “Battle of the Forms”

• Analysis of RFPs and RFTs
• How to win the battle of the forms
• eCommerce and the battle of the forms

Types of contract terms

• Express terms
• Implied terms
• Conditions
• Warranties
• Representations

The form of a contract and drafting clauses

• Form of the contract
• Use of language
• Dictionary of legal terms

What is meant by “breach of contract”?

• Breach of a warranty
• Breach of a condition
• Liquidated damages

Contract termination

• How can a contract be terminated?
• “Termination for convenience”
• Obligations upon the parties

Contracts as part of risk management

• Transferring risk to other parties
• The balance of power
• The role of procurement and corporate counsel

6. Category Management Essentials

This workshop aims to equip participants with an overview of the essentials of category management. It explores roles, key activities, tools, and methods category managers use to drive value from the procurement process.

Introduction

This intensive one-day workshop provides a high level overview of the end to-end category management process.

This course is designed for:

The workshop will benefit those who are involved in strategic sourcing and category management. In particular this course will benefit people who are new to category management or who may contribute to category management as part of their duties, or those who require a ‘refresher’.

Course structure

The pre-workshop activity will stimulate thought about the role of a category manager in contributing to organisational results. The workshop will be led by an experienced facilitator, and will include nine sessions involving exercises, case studies, presentations and facilitated discussions. The post-workshop activity will seek to reinforce the learning and to maximise the transfer of knowledge from the workshop to the workplace.

Benefits of attending

Attendance will help raise awareness of the category management process and the tools that may be used.
As well as this participants will gain three key benefits from attending:

1. Greater appreciation of what category management involves, and the importance of category management to deliver better outcomes
2. Greater appreciation of the tools and other resources available to support category managers
3. Reduced likelihood of the category management process failing to realise the planned benefits

Key learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

1. Describe the category management framework and identify the ways in which value may be created or lost through effective (or ineffective) category management
2. Define the role of the category manager and describe (in overview) how that role relates to other stakeholders supporting effective category management
3. Identify the tools and resources that are appropriate at each phase of category management

Course Content

What is category management and the role of a category manager?

• Category management compared with sourcing and procurement
• The category management framework
• How category management can deliver better outcomes
• What is the role of a category manager?

Understanding our needs

• Understanding our stakeholders
• Spend analysis
• Demand analysis
• Understanding the outcomes we are seeking and identifying opportunities

Understanding suppliers

• Attributes of suppliers
• Understanding markets and market dynamics
• Identify strategic suppliers

Getting better value for money

• Developing options; how can we create the value?
• Selection of options; how will we get the value?
• Making sure we keep the value; contract/financial administration

Planning for success

• Developing a category management plan
• Ensuring stakeholder alignment
• Planning for success

Making sure we keep the value

• Monitoring and reporting upon performance of the category management plan
• Understanding supplier relationship management
• Contract management in practice and the role of the category manager

Managing the contract

• The contract management plan and its relevance to category management
• Completing the contract management plan in
• Using the plan during contract management

Key challenges of category management

• Measuring progress toward policy goals and outcomes
• Co-ordinating multiple interests
• Who to contact for more information

Resources that can help:

• Tool library – also check within your agency
• Key tools and their application
• Tips, tricks and traps

7. Commercial Acumen Essentials

This workshop aims to equip contracting participants with an awareness of how to deal with a business situation in a way that is likely to lead to an effective outcome.

Introduction

This intensive one-day workshop explores commercial acumen for contracting professionals from start to finish, and the behaviours and methods that can be deployed throughout the life-cycle to strengthen the decisions made.

This course is designed for:

The workshop will benefit those involved in the contracting process, and those who wish to fine-tune their appreciation of the skills and behaviours which underpin superior performance. It is suitable for those in procurement, operations and sales functions.

Course structure

A practical one-day workshop consisting of nine sessions involving exercises, case studies, presentations and trainer-facilitated discussions. The sessions will be led by an experienced facilitator and will feature the key principles and practical methods which may be used in the commercial contracting process, together with practical case study sessions to maximise the transfer from the workshop to the workplace.

Benefits of attending

Attendance will improve awareness of the ways to become more commercially aware when preparing, negotiating and managing contracts.

Specifically participants will gain three key benefits from attending:

• Make better contracting judgments and quicker decisions
• Be more likely to achieve contractual goals quickly and with less effort, disputes and cost
• Reduce the likelihood of losing value through making elementary mistakes

Key learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

• Protect the interests of the organisation by the use of the supply chain and contracting life cycles
• Safeguard against supply chain and contracting interruptions by enhancing the contracting process
• Develop clear performance criteria that are workable for both vendor and purchaser
• Suggest insightful ways to create strategy
• Improve ability to read and interpret contracts and financial documents that relate to the contract
• Enhance identifying, assessing and mitigating risks skills
• Manage the negotiating process to ensure that there is a longer-term win-win outcome
• Capture performance so that it can be optimally evaluated and monitored

Course Content

Why the CEO looks at the big picture

• Identifying the key steps in strategic planning
• Realising that “everything in business is related”
• Improving an organisation’s contract management capabilities
• Strategic suppliers and customers

Balancing risk and reward

• Identifying key internal and external risks
• Tools to help you identify and mitigate key risks
• Using the procurement life-cycle to predict future risks
• “Black Swan Events”
• Learning from mistakes

Success through the numbers

• Understanding our business and that of clients/suppliers
• Examining how decisions can affect cash flow
• Describing how the parties make/spend their money
• Improving profits/surpluses
• Better pricing and costing decision making
• Budgets and the effect of variations
• Other party due diligence and security options
• Developing Effective Business Cases

Negotiating for successful outcomes

• Planning a strategic negotiation
• Unwrapping key negotiation styles and phases
• Leveraging your bargaining power in a negotiation
• The IACCM Top Terms in Negotiation Report
• Up skilling inexperienced negotiators

Effective legal management of contracts

• Reading and interpreting a contract
• Creating a valid and enforceable contract
• Describing the key contractual remedies
• Discussing some key laws that can have an effect on the contract: ACL, Agency, IP, PPSA, Small Business Unfair Contract Terms law (commenced on 12 November 2016), Tender, etc

Managing deliverables successfully

• Purpose of “deliverables”
• Differentiating SLAs, KPIs, PIs, rebates, incentives and bonuses
• Writing ‘quality’ into a contract
• Examining transition clauses
• Monitoring and evaluating deliverables

Managing the relationships

• Comparing and contrasting “managing” and “leading”
• Examining successful change management
• Building trust and relationships
• Improving communication

Exploiting commercial relationships

• Identifying and proving commercial opportunities
• Selling commercial opportunities to key stakeholders
• Developing commercial opportunities
• Key legal and financial issues in developing commercial opportunities
• Using business tools to assist

Action Planning

8. Stakeholder Influencing and Management

The aim of the workshop is to develop participants’ capability to build more effective stakeholder relationships with others working along the supply chain.

Introduction

This workshop explores practical tools, techniques and skills that can be used to influence stakeholders and align them around the project goals and objectives.  The program explores a variety of approaches to the identification, analysis, engagement and subsequent relationships with stakeholders.

This course is designed for:

This workshop will benefit practitioners involved in managing categories, projects, contracts and suppliers who need to manage stakeholders to realise their planned project outcomes. This may include resource managers, service delivery managers, contract managers, category managers and procurement practitioners.

Course structure

A practical one-day workshop consisting of nine session involving exercises, case studies, presentations and trainerfacilitated discussions. Each of the sessions will be led by an experienced facilitator and will feature the key principles and practical methods which may be used in the procurement process, together with practical case study sessions to maximise the transfer from the workshop to the workplace.

Benefits of attending

This workshop will develop capability in adopting a systematic approach to stakeholder engagement and subsequent management.

As well as this, participants will gain three key benefits from attending:

1. More capability in identifying and engaging stakeholders and diagnosing what role they may play in the project
2. More capability in influencing stakeholders and dealing with role conflict, disagreements about direction, and challenges about support for the project
3. Less conflict with stakeholders or project delays due to loss of stakeholder engagement or disagreement about direction or choices to be made

Key learning outcomes

This workshop will develop capability in adopting a systematic approach to stakeholder engagement and subsequent management.

1. Develop practical approaches to stakeholder identification and segmentation as a prelude to designing appropriate relationships with stakeholders
2. Engage with, and influence, a range of stakeholders and deal with their questions and objections about participation in the project
3. Deploy practical tools to define roles and responsibilities and ensure that role ambiguity is minimised
4. Develop communication programmes to both ‘push’ information and allow stakeholders to ‘pull’ information about the project or category which is aligned to the stakeholder’s needs and reasonable expectations
5. Develop the capability to influence horizontally and upwards to lobby and influence governance groups and senior managers to align them around project goals and recommendations

Course Content

Stakeholder influencing and management

• How to identify stakeholders
• Profiling stakeholders and their likely interest
• Engaging stakeholders and building rapport
• Influencing stakeholders and dealing with objections
• Managing ‘turf wars’ and role conflict
• Designing communication programmes
• Managing upwards; dealing with your boss, governance groups and the senior leadership team
• Building and re-building trust and other challenges

How to identify stakeholders

• The classical approach: inputs/policy/budgets/users/customers
• Internal and external stakeholders?
• Defining the scope of the stakeholder analysis

Profiling stakeholders and their likely interest

• The power / interest matrix
• What are some sources of power?
• What are some sources of interest?

Engaging stakeholders and building rapport

• “Hi! I’m from procurement and I’m here to help!”
• Gaining access through gatekeepers
• Answering the WIIFM question
• The first 90 seconds
• Ask or tell?
• Building rapport authentically
• Tips, tricks and traps

Influencing stakeholders and dealing with objections

• Influencing styles; push and pull influencing styles
• Defining your personal power
• What is an objection?
• Benefit statements
• Tips, tricks and traps

Managing ‘turf wars’ and role conflict

• Types of conflict: warranted and unwarranted conflict
• Unwarranted conflict and conflict resolution
• Warranted conflict and role ambiguity
• Using RACI to reduce conflict
• Other ways to defuse conflict
• The benefit of pilot projects
• Denial, resistance, exploration and participation

Designing communication programmes

• Segmenting stakeholders
• Communicating with key players
• Communicating with other stakeholder groups
• Developing a communications matrix
• Do people really visit your intranet site?
• Key traps in writing stakeholder communication

Managing upwards: dealing with your boss, governance groups and the senior leadership team

• How much detail is appropriate?
• Fear, anxiety and suspicion; what role do they play in review processes?
• The one page overview
• When PowerPoint works, and when it doesn’t
• Delivering bad news; tips, tricks and traps

Building and re-building trust and other challenges

• What is trust?
• Sako’s typology of trust
• Building basic or “contractual trust”
• Belief tests and rebuilding trust when it has been lost

9. Communications Skills

The aim of the workshop is to develop participants’ capability to communicate more effectively, engage all kinds of people and groups to gain a better outcome and improved relationships.

Introduction

This workshop explores practical contexts in which practitioners in the procurement process may interact with others both inside and outside their own organisation. The workshop will develop skills and confidence in diagnostic interviews, presentations, small group facilitation and influencing.

This course is designed for:

This workshop will be of benefit to practitioners whose role involves them in interacting with others, and who wish to develop their personal confidence and capability in communicating more effectively.

Course structure

A practical one-day workshop consisting of nine session involving exercises, case studies, presentations and trainer-facilitated discussions. Each of the sessions will be led by an experienced facilitator and will feature the key principles and practical methods which may be used in the procurement process, together with practical case study sessions to maximise the transfer from the workshop to the workplace.

Benefits of attending

This workshop will develop your capability and confidence and equip you with practical skills that can be deployed in workplace interactions.

As well as this delegates will gain three key benefits from attending:

1. More confidence in leading and facilitating interactions with others working in and around the supply chain
2. More effective communication will help foster improved relationships and better mutual understanding with stakeholders
3. Less likelihood that stakeholder relationships will be compromised through poor communication behaviours or failure to build appropriate levels of rapport and engagement

Key learning outcomes

• Develop confidence in your communication ability and recognise how you can be more effective in communications with others
• Develop empathy to diagnose stakeholder issues through questioning and tuning in to what is said and what is not said
• Improve ability to engage with and influence small groups through improved facilitation capability
• Develop capability to communicate abstract and complex ideas both in writing and orally when presenting to others
• Develop the capability to project yourself more confidently in a range of situations so that your performance is more impactful

Course Content

Communication skills in overview

• Interpersonal skills overview
• Questioning skills and diagnosing information
• Listening and tuning in to verbal and nonverbal communication
• Facilitating small groups and teams
• Influencing people; push & pull styles
• Presentation skills, oral and in writing
• Giving and receiving feedback with others
• Improving your own personal “brand”

Interpersonal skills overview

• Challenging stereotypes about procurement people and their behaviour
• Values, beliefs and behaviour
• Typical examples of procurement interactions in the workplace

Questioning skills and diagnosing information

• Types of questions
• Open questions and their use
• Closed questions and their use
• Probing questions and their use
• Leading questions and their use
• It’s not an interrogation; making the questioning natural and spontaneous not mechanical and inquisitive

Listening and tuning in to verbal and non-verbal communication

• What Mehrabian actually said
• Gap searching versus active listening
• Tips, tricks and traps of active listening
• How do you “tune in” to what is not said?
• Non-verbal communication; bunkum or legitimate mechanism to communicate feedback?
• Looking for clusters of feedback; the content, the voice, and the dance
• Emotional literacy in stakeholder interactions

Facilitating small groups and teams

• How facilitation differs from presentation
• The facilitator’s role; concern for process and concern for outcome
• Planning the session; before the event
• Why participation is better than presentation
• At the meeting; designing and setting the task
• At the meeting; when to allow debate and when to intervene
• Tips, tricks and traps of facilitation

Influencing people using push and pull styles

• How push styles differ from pull styles
• Push style; the governance enforcer
• Push style; the fact-based logician
• Push style; the control freak
• Pull style; the charming people person
• Pull style; the problem solver
• Pull style; the bridger
• Tips, tricks and traps of influencing

Presentation skills, oral and in writing

• How to make boring presentations
• Tips, tricks and traps of presentation skills
• Designing slides; some golden rules
• Oral presentations; how to be more impactful in terms of your posture and gesture
• Oral presentations; how to be more impactful in terms of your voice and delivery
• Oral presentations; how to be more impactful in terms of writing the content
• Tips, tricks and traps of writing persuasively

Giving and receiving feedback with others

• Developmental feedback and motivational feedback; what’s the difference?
• Designing a feedback session; bad news first?
• Delivering developmental feedback; some golden rules
• Delivering motivational feedback
• Receiving feedback; why do we become defensive?
• Receiving feedback; good practice in responding

Improving your own personal “brand”

• Positive brand attributes of procurement people
• Negative brand attributes of procurement people
• What are your personal values?
• The presentation of self in everyday life
• What your LinkedIn profile says about you
• Negative self-scripts and tweaking them into positive affirmations

10. Conflict Resolution Skills

Introduction

Often when dealing with procurement & supply management conflict, it is the result of people having differing needs, opinions, expectations and importantly different perspectives. The reality of conflict is that in any human relationship it is inevitable, if handled well, conflict provides a powerful avenue for significant growth. Conflict resolution involves recognising and managing the particular conflict. This is an essential part of building emotional intelligence, and nurturing relationships.

This course is designed for

This course will be of benefit for all delegates involved in managing challenging suppliers and contracts. These may include strategy, planning and resource managers, service delivery managers, contracts personnel, operations and divisional managers and most importantly procurement and purchasing managers.

Course structure

Six sessions delivered over a full day in a facilitated classroom format. This course utilises workbooks, case studies and real world procurement experience. A role play exercise is conducted at the end of a course, to gather in the learning, and to assess how well the participants have understood the training.

Benefits of attending

This course is a vital step to better procurement outcomes. It will equip you with more understanding to ensure procurement decisions:

• Resolve workplace conflict and build a common understanding and framework for working through challenging conflict situations
• Develop conflict resolution strategies for quickly and effectively recognising, resolving and preventing conflict
• Incorporate a structured and consistent process when dealing with suppliers

Key learning outcomes

• Gain a thorough understanding of the sources, causes and types of conflict
• Master all six phases of the conflict resolution process
• Learn to apply conflict resolution approaches
• Learn how to use parts of the conflict resolution process to recognise and prevent conflict before it escalates
• Develop communication tools such as agreement frames and open questions

11. Sales Skills for Procurement Professionals

The aim of the workshop is to equip participants with an awareness of sales techniques in order to neutralise supplier’s tactics, and to emulate sales behaviours in influencing internal stakeholders during the procurement process.

Introduction

This workshop explores business to business sales techniques and particularly the ways in which sales practitioners seek to influence the sales/procurement process for significant sales. The workshop will address both how the procurement team can seek to neutralise the tactics and strategies of the sales person, and how the procurement practitioner can emulate the tactics and behaviours of the sales person in order to manage the internal and external interfaces.

This course is designed for:

This course will benefit those involved in category management, strategic sourcing, procurement or vendor management who manage complex business to business acquisition projects.

Course structure

A practical one-day workshop consisting of nine session involving exercises, case studies, presentations and trainer-facilitated discussions. Each of the sessions will be led by an experienced facilitator and will feature the key principles and practical methods which may be used in the procurement process, together with practical case study sessions to maximise the transfer from the workshop to the workplace.

Benefits of attending

This workshop will help practitioners reduce the likelihood that their procurement process is subverted by suppliers’ sales processes.

As well as this delegates will gain three key benefits from attending:

• More understanding of supplier’s sales techniques in order to neutralise supplier’s tactics
• More engagement of the client’s business and better alignment to the procurement project’s goals and objectives
• Less likelihood that the procurement process is sabotaged or subverted by the participants in a bid or negotiation process

Key learning outcomes

• Describe the sales process and a variety of methods that sales people use to influence buying behaviour in business to business sales
• Identify which sales strategies, tactics and behaviours can be adopted to influence stakeholders within our own organisations
• Develop appropriate mechanisms to neutralise the influence of sales people on the procurement process
• Drive out real business needs in an agnostic way that ensure that procurement decisions are reached in an environment of probity and transparency
• Detect and neutralise a variety of common negotiation tactics and promote a culture in negotiations of transparency and ethical behaviour

Course Content

“Selling to” versus “buying from”; the change in business to business sales processes

• The “hard sell” and features and benefits
• The “soft sell” and value based sales
• “Strategic selling” and buying facilitation
• Accessing and engaging the “VITO”
• Key ways salespeople try to influence the procurement process
• Negotiating tactics and ploys
• Needs identification; explicit and latent needs
• How procurement practitioners can outwit the sales person

The “hard sell” and features and benefits

• What is the “hard sell”?
• Features and benefits
• Dale Carnegie and “old school” sales methods
• Why benefits matter; the business case

The “soft sell” and value based sales

• What is the “soft sell”?
• SPIN® selling
• The diagnostic phase; tools and behaviours
• The presentational phase; tools and behaviours

Strategic selling and buying facilitation

• Strategic selling in theory and practice
• Diagnosing roles and orientation
• Developing an account management plan
• External relationship mapping
• Buying facilitation
• The salesperson’s role in the facilitation process
• The buyer’s role in the facilitation process
• What are the benefits of buyer agnosticism?

Accessing and engaging the “VITO”

• Who is the VITO in your organisation?
• Identifying and managing gatekeepers
• What will get the attention of a C-suite officer?
• To ask or to tell? What to say in the first 5 minutes
• The three-part script and the call to action

Key ways salespeople try to influence the procurement process

• Influencing the end-user or budget holder
• Influencing the budget
• Influencing the business case
• Influencing the procurement strategy
• Influencing the bid evaluation criteria
• Influencing the specification
• Influencing the bid list
• Influencing the bid scoring
• Influencing the award
• How can we create an agnostic and robust decision-making process

Negotiating tactics and ploys

• The volume-price agreement; what it is and how to deal with it
• The package deal; what it is and how to deal with it
• The loss leader; what it is and how to deal with it
• Nickel and diming: what it is and how to deal with it
• Standing room only: what it is and how to deal with it
• Creating a culture of transparency in negotiation

Needs identification; explicit and latent needs

• The business need; a key concept
• Who defines what we need?
• Needs and wants
• Explicit and latent needs
• How we can facilitate existing and future needs
• Is uncovering latent needs legitimate sales practice or manipulation?

How procurement practitioners can outwit the sales person

• Communicating the need for a robust procurement process to the stakeholder
• Governance about single sourcing or non-competition waivers
• Business case approvals
• Developing commercial awareness
• Separation of budgetary and commitment approvals
• Managing disclosure and liaison with suppliers before and during bid processes
• Calibrating scoring during bid evaluation
• Building agnosticism into the procurement at each phase of the process