
A client from the Middle East, a ship repair company, reached out to me for negotiation skills training.
They were facing a tough challenge. Typically, ship repair projects took anywhere from 6 months to a year, and during this time, the negotiation process was long and repetitive.
Here’s how it worked: Each repair project had a Representative from the ship-owning company and an Account Manager from the repair company assigned to it for the entire duration. The Account Manager would assess issues and provide quotations, and the Representative would negotiate the costs. This back-and-forth would happen multiple times throughout the project. Once the repair was complete, all these invoices would be compiled into a final total, which would then go through one last round of negotiations between them.
But even after this lengthy process, when the total amount was finalized, the owners of both companies would meet for yet another negotiation session. Yes, even at this final stage, the ship repair company owner expected the ship owner to push for a discount.
The ship repair company owner wanted to have some cushion for that last round, but that meant the earlier negotiations—handled by the Account Managers—had to be much stronger and more structured.
This is where I stepped in.
I began by conducting a thorough training needs analysis. Participants filled out detailed questionnaires, and I followed that up with 1:1 calls with the Account Managers and leadership team. This helped me design a PowerFULL Negotiator course specifically tailored to their needs.
I conducted a two-day, in-depth training session with 15 of their Account Managers, all seasoned professionals between 35-50 years old who had spent most of their careers negotiating in the ship repair industry. Despite their experience, they learned a structured approach to negotiation, which they immediately began applying to their ongoing projects.
The result? Within just the first three weeks of implementing their new skills, the company saved $1,000,000.
Now, imagine the impact on their profits as they continued to apply these techniques consistently. Not only did they save significantly, but they also positioned themselves as the number one company in their market—surpassing three other competitors with nearly equal market share.
I firmly believe that when you equip your team with the right knowledge, techniques, and tools, their performance—and your profits—can skyrocket.
This is why I love what I do.
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