Professional Services
A Global Systematic Approach for Experienced Negotiators
The Situation
PWC, one of the world’s largest Professional Services firms, came to SNI requesting a negotiation training program for their Partners, Directors, and Managers in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia.
This program was delivered at each region’s Annual Advisory Conference to help provide the leaders with a common negotiation language and systematic approach.
The SNI Solution
SNI met the challenge of presenting culturally relevant material to an audience comprised of individuals from 76 different countries speaking a host of languages and designed a program that addressed specific negotiation challenges within Advisory.
Advisory provides advice and assistance to corporations, government bodies, and intermediaries in the implementation of their strategy, relating to Transactions, Performance Improvement, Operations, and Crisis Management, among other areas. SNI designed a customized exercise that demonstrated to participants how to price their services based on their higher value creation, rather than on their costs.
SNI has gone on to deliver other negotiation training programs within PWC, including an advanced program that includes videotaped role play and real time coaching.
The Impact
“I found the session very interesting and your presentation style enthusiastic and passionate. Initially, I felt like I got a lot out of the session and was interested to see how it would go in practice (including my own discipline in actually taking action with some of the key areas I learned from the day). I am glad to say that there have been a few areas that I have implemented and with success – in particular being more disciplined with planning and preparing for negotiations, no matter how big or small.”
–Associate Director
“I’ve attended many negotiation courses but I thought your delivery of the material in time allocated was particularly good. I think the most memorable (apart from your very humorous life experiences) was the session about anchoring and taking the ego out of negotiations both of which I am now very conscious of in all engagements and which I think has improved my technique.”
–Partner
The Result
Following the implementation of SNI’s habits and tools, most participants, according to client feedback, were able to leave less money on the table and felt an increase in confidence throughout the negotiation process. SNI believes the greatest indication of a successful program is the opportunity to extend the relationship with the client – SNI has proudly completed programs at PWC for over a decade.
