The review and/or use of the Tools and other materials included on this website are subject to the Terms and Conditions attached hereto.  Please carefully review those Terms and Conditions, which can be accessed by clicking here. By opening, reviewing, and/or using the Tools or other materials contained on this website you are agreeing to accept all of those Terms and Conditions.

Introduction

This toolkit is a series of presentations, forms, and frameworks providing an overview of the critical processes, methodologies, and logistics necessary to complete a successful interest-based negotiation.

Scope

The scope of the toolkit encompasses negotiation team lists, negotiation calendar, data and document trackers, negotiation strategy form, issues planning, issues tracking, priority matrix tool, executive discussion document, negotiation training, supplier negotiation kickoffs, and negotiation orientation for tower teams. However, this toolkit is not customized to a specific negotiation scenario or to a set of negotiation positions.

Contents

Negotiation Team Contact List & Responsibilities provides a definitive single point of reference for all participants in the negotiations process.  Document and data trackers encapsulate contracts which can be broken down into discrete elements and listed in a format that allows the team leader to track and control the flow.

The Negotiation Strategy form helps in initial Buyer strategy workshops to define, prioritize, and focus on the Buyer’s issues, approach, and strategy in attaining Buyer goals. It also documents Buyer requirements and allows the team to maintain direction during negotiations. The Issues Planning form is used to document specific issues that arose during the negotiation process and support strategies to address these issues. The Issues Tracking Form is used to track the progress of each specific issue during the negotiation process.

The Priority Matrix tool is used to formally prioritize buyer and supplier issues. It is useful both in preparing for negotiations as well as revisiting priorities during the negotiation process. The executive discussion document is used by the Buyer’s senior management to build consensus on approach and ensure the appropriate personnel are assigned to appropriate responsibilities. It can also be used during team training to align personnel into roles & responsibilities within the team.

The Negotiation Training documents helps the Buyer formulize the appropriate approach to contract negotiations. It makes all involved Buyer parties focus on the negotiation’s purpose and desired outcomes.  The Buyer can also utilize the Supplier Negotiation Kickoffs document to help outline logistics and set the schedule of the negotiation process. 

The Negotiation Orientation for Tower Teams document will help organize teams/individuals representing function tower specific interests to be involved into the negotiation process in a constructive manner.  This is particularly helpful when sub-teams will be negotiating contract components of the master agreement.  To fully utilize the negotiations package, all documents must be fully understood and potentially customized to fit the Buyer’s needs before entering into negotiations.

WORKSHOP

If an expert opinion is needed, please review our Negotiations Planning Workshop overview.

Statement of Work (SOW) & Service Level documents are available by business function: 

Contact Center   |   Finance and Accounting   |   Human Resources

IT Infrastructure   |   IT ADM   |   Procurement