It turns out that most negotiations are over even before they begin. The purchasing team that has spent the most time planning for the negotiation, doing their homework and collecting the data that they'll need, is the one that's going to walk away from the table with the best deal. Wouldn't you want that team to be your team?

What you'll find inside:

• The seven deadly sins of preparing to negotiate
• Deals that make money: how to plan your concessions
• Make more sales: understanding buyer power and what to do about it
• Single versus team negotiation: which is better?

Planning is what happens before a supply chain manager sits down at the negotiating table. There are no negotiating tactics or tricks at play here. It's just a matter of you doing your homework. At the same time, you hope that the other side is not doing their homework, so you'll show up at the negotiation more prepared than they are.

Just committing to doing the planning that your next negotiation is going to require is not enough. You also have to know just exactly how to go about doing it. That's what this book is going to teach you. Every negotiation that a purchasing agent or supply chain manager engages in is different, and so the planning you'll have to do for every negotiation will be different also.

The planning that is required for a successful negotiation for the person you are responsible for takes on many different forms. These can include planning where and when the negotiations will be held, what concessions you'll be willing to make to the other side, and understanding who has what power in the negotiations.