The Negotiating Challenge
Our client faced a major renegotiation with significant pressure from the other party on terms and on time deadlines.
- Renegotiation of a 5-year supply contract with the government for a major product line, worth over $500M
- The other party was under pressure to achieve substantial improvements in terms and conditions compared to the previous contract. They had allocated $1M for negotiation preparation
- The negotiation took over 6 months, with formal meetings occurring every two weeks during active phases. The other party was under significant pressure to meet deadlines and milestones
- The negotiating challenge was to deliver a good deal in the face of tremendous pressure on deadlines and terms.
How ENSI Helped
Working with us before each meeting, the negotiating team set process objectives and tactics to slow the pace of negotiations.
- All members of the negotiating team attended our in-house course as part of project initiation
- Our consultant was engaged prior to every meeting to help explicitly plan process outcomes for the upcoming meeting
- The team adopted a communications approach aimed at drawing out the desired outcome from the other party via structured questions, rather than ‘telling’ via highly formalised PowerPoint presentations
- A key insight was to appreciate the impact of deadlines on the other party’s decision making. This led to selection of tactics designed to slow the pace of negotiations, rather than simply bowing to the other party’s deadline pressures.
Outcomes
Both parties were satisfied with the terms and timing of the negotiations.
- The terms and conditions of the deal exceeded our client’s initial expectations
- Towards the end of the process, the team shifted tactics to actively help the other party achieve their deadlines.
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