Negotiation Techniques in the Construction and Property Sector: How to Succeed.

About the course.

What you learn.

• Decision psychology and what governs and influences your own and others' decisions
• The four phases of negotiation and how you can act in the different phases: 1) Preparation, 2) Information exchange, 3) Discussion phase and 4) Closing
• 10 principles of influence from social psychology that govern most of our decisions and how to use them strategically in negotiations about, for example, contracts, deliveries or rent levels
• How to carry out a needs analysis to pin down what both you and the other party want to get out of the negotiation in order to find shared solutions
• How and when you should make concessions
• Building and formulating effective messages and arguments
• Body language: using your own and reading others' in everything from site meetings to complex business negotiations
• How to succeed with bidding and pricing in negotiations

How the course is built.

1. Welcome and presentation

   You are welcomed and we introduce the day.

2. Basics and needs exercise

   We go through basic mindsets and how to carry out a needs analysis that creates solutions where both parties are satisfied. Through an exercise linked to industry-specific examples you learn to pin down what the other party and you yourself want to get out of the negotiation.

3. Influence

   10 psychological principles that govern most of our decisions, and how to use them strategically in negotiations about, for example, contracts, deliveries or rent levels. Through these you understand how your own decision process works and how you can influence others' decisions.

4. Influence: exercise

   Through group discussion and an exercise based on your own and the other participants' experiences, you learn to use the psychology of influence effectively and practically.

5. Influence in depth

   We deepen our understanding of influence and learn to build strong arguments and clear messages.

6. The phases of negotiation

   What is most important in each phase and how should you act? 1. Preparation: examples from the industry, how to prepare a meeting with a landowner or a building contractor 2. Information exchange: What are we going to negotiate about? How do we find common ground? 3. The discussion phase: Terms, needs and allocation. How do you handle, for example, price adjustments or additional work? 4. Closing: How to achieve a clear and effective close.

7. Strategies and techniques in negotiation

   We go through techniques for concessions, handling unclear mandates and other challenges typical of construction and property negotiations.

8. Role-play exercise with checklist

   A role-play exercise lets you practise in reality. We will not be acting, just working with certain information and conditions and negotiating around them. You receive a checklist that helps you in future negotiations.

9. Rhetoric

   How to strengthen your message through language and wording, relevant in, for example, rent negotiations, project collaborations or discussions with subcontractors.

10. Wording and argumentation exercises

    You practise formulating a short and convincing message, something you will benefit from in e-mails, meetings and oral negotiations.

11. Prospect theory

    We learn how Daniel Kahneman's Nobel Prize-winning theory is used to improve your negotiation results, for example in pricing or handling uncertainties in projects.

12. Body language and communication exercise

    You learn to use and interpret body language, an important tool in everything from site meetings to complex business negotiations. We deepen our knowledge of mirroring and other non-verbal techniques.

13. Summary

    We tie the day together and discuss concrete lessons.

Who is this for?

Everyone whose role in the construction and property sector involves negotiations, for example: - Project managers - Contractors - Property developers - Purchasers - Site supervisors - Developers - Property managers - Managers and decision makers