Since the 1980's industrial buying has gone from getting three quotes and executing a three-part carbon paper Purchase Order typed on an IBM Selectric typewriter, to a sophisticated electronic environment where information is available at the buyer's computer command. With the introduction of ERP systems buyers can now assemble historical buy information, supplier history and performance, develop RFPs, RFQs and enable reverse auctions. Electronically, buyers can exchange offers with suppliers and transmit Purchase Orders via EDI. Procurement is now taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels as part of Supply Chain Management programs at universities around the world. Students emerging from graduate programs are more strategic thinkers and have a much broader understanding of business as ecosystems. Sellers are also getting more sophisticated. By doing online research, they have a much better understanding of their competition and of their company. They can quote from your annual report and cite your CEO's direction for the near future. Through email they may be talking to many other people in the company, selling to the business and bypassing Purchasing like never before. They too, are better educated and sell value-based solutions. Gone are the days of taking buyers to lunch and expecting a purchase order in return. And finally, deals have changed. Today, deals are rarely about just one price for one product. Buyers now find themselves buying products and services that include software, maintenance agreements, training, field service, supplier-managed inventory and a host of other things. Requirements are based on tight forecasts, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), and Lean principles. Buys are likely to be international, whether the buyer is purchasing from a local distributor or buying directly from overseas. Internal buying is complicated by currency, culture, communications and global time zones. All of this means more complexity in every buy as well as many new opportunities for far better negotiations. This book is written by two people with 50 plus years of experience on both the buy and sell sides of deals. The benefit to readers is an understanding of holistic thinking and analysis based on multiple internal customer needs on the buy side and multiple stakeholders on the sales side.

Highly effective negotiation skills are an essential element of a purchasing professional's toolkit. Negotiation for Purchasing Professionals provides a step-by-step approach to delivering winning negotiations and getting game changing results. It provides purchasers with the necessary tools and tactics for a detailed, planned approach to negotiation. Jonathan O'Brien shifts the emphasis away from relying mostly upon personality to a more structured approach that enables anyone to negotiate effectively, even when up against a formidable opponent. This approach allows the purchasing professional or the buying team to evaluate the supplier in advance, assess the sales team, and tailor their negotiation strategy depending on cultural differences, personality traits and game theory. Negotiation for Purchasing Professionals provides a strong framework for discussion in advance of the meeting, allowing the negotiator to plan their agenda, objectives and tactics. The book is based upon Red Sheet Methodology, a proven and collaborative technique used by many companies globally. If you are in a buying role, this book will increase your confidence and transform your ability to secure winning outcomes and better business results. Negotiation for Purchasing Professionals was short listed for the ACA-Bruel Prize and was Specially Commended at the Gala Dinner 2013 organised by the Association of Purchasing and Supply Chain (CESA) of HEC School of Management in Paris. Negotiation for Purchasing Professionals is the perfect companion to Jonathan O'Brien's other books Category Management in Purchasing and Supplier Relationship Management. Used together, they provide a complete and powerful strategic purchasing toolkit.

Offers strategies and advice on retaining pricing power for business-to-business salespeople who have to negotiate with procurement departments.

What do winners of major sales do differently than the sellers who almost won, but ultimately came in second place? Mike Schultz and John Doerr, bestselling authors and world-renowned sales experts, set out to find the answer. They studied more than 700 business-to-business purchases made by buyers who represented a total of $3.1 billion in annual purchasing power. When they compared the winners to the second-place finishers, they found surprising results. Not only do sales winners sell differently, they sell radically differently, than the second-place finishers. In recent years, buyers have increasingly seen products and services as replaceable. You might think this would mean that the sale goes to the lowest bidder. Not true! A new breed of seller—the insight seller—is winning the sale with strong prices and margins even in the face of increasing competition and commoditization. In Insight Selling, Schultz and Doerr share the surprising results of their research on what sales winners do differently, and outline exactly what you need to do to transform yourself and your team into insight sellers. They introduce a simple three-level model based on what buyers say tip the scales in favor of the winners: Level 1 "Connect." Winners connect the dots between customer needs and company solutions, while also connecting with buyers as people. Level 2 "Convince." Winners convince buyers that they can achieve maximum return, that the risks are acceptable, and that the seller is the best choice among all options. Level 3 "Collaborate." Winners collaborate with buyers by bringing new ideas to the table, delivering new ideas and insights, and working with buyers as a team. They also found that much of the popular and current advice given to sellers can damage sales results. Insight Selling is both a strategic and tactical guide that will separate the good advice from the bad, and teach you how to put the three levels of selling to work to inspire buyers, influence their agendas, and maximize value. If you want to find yourself and your team in the winner's circle more often, this book is a must-read.

Describes a method of negotiation that isolates problems, focuses on interests, creates new options, and uses objective criteria to help two parties reach an agreement.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER The tools you need to maximize success in any negotiation, at any level With Negotiate Without Fear: Strategies and Tools to Maximize Your Outcomes, master negotiator, Kellogg professor, and accomplished CEO Victoria Medvec delivers an authoritative and practical resource for eliminating the fear that impedes success in negotiation. In this book, readers will discover unique and proprietary negotiation strategies honed over decades advising Fortune 500 clients on high-stakes, complex negotiations. Negotiate Without Fear provides readers at all levels of negotiation skill the ability to increase their negotiating confidence and maximize their negotiation success. You'll learn how to: Put the right issues on the table by defining your objectives for the negotiation Analyze the issues being negotiated with an Issue Matrix to ensure you have the right issues to secure what you want Establish ambitious goals using a proprietary tool to identify the weaknesses in the other side's best outside alternative (BATNA) Leverage a unique architecture for creating and delivering Multiple Equivalent Simultaneous Offers (MESOs) Negotiate Without Fear belongs on the bookshelves of executives and all the dealmakers who work for them. Additionally, specific advice is provided in every chapter for individuals who are negotiating for themselves and in the everyday world. This book is an invaluable guide for anyone who hopes to sharpen their negotiating skills and achieve success in any arena.

With over 1,000 successful real estate deals between them, the authors combine the science of negotiation with real world experience to dive into all aspects of the real estate negotiation process -- from the first interaction with a buyer or seller, to renegotiating the contract after unexpected issues arise, to last-minute concessions at closing. Aimed at real estate investors and agents at any level, this book not only covers all aspects of negotiating real estate deals, but also contains dozens of true-life stories that highlight how strong negotiation can result in more and better deals, as well as dialogue that will teach you what to say and how to say it, strengthening your ability to close profitable transactions.