Procurement

“Don’t leave me hanging!” – a desperate cry for normality

For some time I've been considering writing a post about something that I see increasingly more often and it gets me very worried: buyers never revert to suppliers or salespeople, therefore the negotiations are left "in the air". The title of this post, "Don't leave me hanging", comes from a supplier I met not long ago who literally begged me to give him feedback about his offer, no matter if it was a positive or a negative one. He said it smiling, trying to pretend it was a joke, but I could feel his bitterness, probably coming from previous unhappy encounters. In my 25+ years working in business, most of the…

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The worst way to sell – and how to avoid it!

Is there such a thing like the "best way to sell"? Or the "worst way to sell"? Personally I believe yes and in this short article I will share my experience about the latter and tell you how to avoid "killing the sale with your own hands". These advices are 100% helping in  the selling process of both services and goods. As most of my business life I've been a client, I attended countless meetings in which suppliers tried to sell their goods or services. In the majority of cases, the potential suppliers made formal presentations, aiming at gaining us as a client.  What differentiated the successful suppliers from the unsuccessful…

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Know what and how to buy

A good friend of mine called me 2 weeks ago to ask my advice related to a purchase she had to make for her marketing team: a brochure for their forthcoming new brand launch. She has little commercial purchasing experience and wanted to get the most for her money, while avoiding potential pitfalls. So here are my condensed advices I gave her - which I hope will help you too! They refer to purchasing goods and also services and will help you know better what and how to buy what you need. Know what exactly you need to buy. Be clear in your mind what exactly you MUST get (mandatory) and…

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Negotiation tactics – how to use them wisely, without losing your soul

Negotiation tactics - a "hot" topic that I'm sure will draw a lot of readers for this post because apparently many people are "mesmerized" by them! But before digging into some of my learning regarding the best use of negotiation tactics, I want to talk about one of my favorite movies: "Shortcut to happiness". It's simply a brilliant movie, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Alec Baldwin. You might wonder what this move has to do with the title of this blog post? It might surprise you, but the two have one very important learning in common: both in life and negotiation, you must work hard to be…

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Negotiation deadlock – 5 reasons why it’s a great opportunity to win a deal

Negotiation deadlock: words that scare many people, even the more seasoned negotiators. And I will be very frank: the negotiation deadlock (still) frightens me too! Why is that? Simply because most human beings hate change, they hate uncertainty, particularly if it might have a negative outcome. And a negotiation deadlock brings exactly that: uncertainty about the fate of the negotiation. But it doesn't have to be like that! I will share with you in this blog 5 reasons why a deadlock can actually help you WIN the negotiation!Before going any further, let us have a clear definition of what the "negotiation deadlock" is. As per the Cambridge Dictionary, it is…

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The best negotiators are like the best doctors!

I was asked many times in my training or speeches what are the qualities of the best negotiators. I always answered in the best way I could, based on my experiences up to that moment. These days, however, I realized that the answer is much simpler than I thought and the answer was there, in front of my eyes all the time. I just did not see it until now! The qualities of the best negotiators are the same as the qualities of the best doctors! As simple as that! While you may argue that not everyone dealt with a professional negotiator, I doubt there is anyone who did not go…

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Procurement – now critical for business success

We are living unprecedented times , with very little predictability of what's coming next both at business and at personal level. Agility and Adaptability became the daily routines if a business or an individual want to sail through these times and succeed! And this applies to Procurement function too, as it is becoming an increasingly critical function for the overall business success.I share below my thoughts on what Procurement MUST DO now, in these times of crisis and uncertainty, in order to add significantly MORE value and become critical for business success.1. Procurement MUST become now, more than ever, a reliable and trusted business partner, both internally and externally. This means…

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