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Description

Key Negotiation Rules: Prepare, Defend Your Price and Close

Embed three simple reflexes that protect your margin without damaging the commercial relationship

  • 0.43 days — 3 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Negotiation often starts too late and on price alone. Without preparation, concessions are made by reflex, discounts are granted without anything in return and the margin erodes as the discussion goes on. Pressure on lead times and payment terms does the rest.

Three hours in a virtual classroom to embed three rules that hold up day to day: set your limits before the meeting, grant no concession without something in return, and lock the agreement down at the point of closing. Participants practise on negotiations drawn from their own accounts.

Learning objectives

  • Prepare a negotiation by setting your target
  • your walk-away point and your fallback option
  • Apply the rule of reciprocity to every concession requested
  • Defend a price by arguing on value delivered rather than on cost
  • Recognise the most common pressure tactics and respond without breaking off talks
  • Close by recapping and locking down the points negotiated

What makes this programme different

Three rules you can apply the very next day rather than a theoretical overview
Each participant quantifies the impact of a discount on their own margin
Role-plays reproduce the tactics genuinely encountered by the group

Programme

1Preparing before you enter the negotiation

Know your own limits before you explore the client's

  • Distinguish the target you aim for from the threshold you will not cross
  • List your trading variables other than price
  • Assess the balance of power and the options open to each side
  • Anticipate the buyer's likely requests

2Trading without giving ground

No concession without something in return

  • Answer a discount request with a question
  • Systematically pair every concession with a counterpart
  • Justify the price through value delivered and cost avoided
  • Hold your position in the face of urgency and silence

3Closing and securing the agreement

Close before the negotiation reopens

  • Recognise buying signals
  • Recap the negotiated points one by one
  • Formalise the agreement and its conditions
  • Prepare the next stage of the relationship after signature

Who is it for

Sales professionals, account managers and technical specialists who negotiate pricing or contractual terms with their clients.

Prerequisites

No prior knowledge required

Dates & locations

12 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.