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Effective Contract Negotiation

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Course Details

A highly practical one-day course on effective contract negotiation helping you to negotiate contracts, deals and disputes and maintain relationships.

Open courses for individuals or bespoke courses for groups.

Duration

1 day

What is this course about?

Effective contract negotiation is at the heart of commercial success. The art of contract negotiation is just as important for the support team as it is for the up-front negotiator.

This course enables delegates to successfully negotiate contracts, deals and disputes while maintaining good relationships with the other party and their advisers. The course covers a variety of effective negotiating skills and styles coupled with a detailed analysis of negotiating techniques.

The course also addresses how to negotiate a settlement of a dispute that may arise whilst the contract is in operation. The course gives the opportunity for delegates to test their own skills through the use of interactive methods including case studies, workshops, practical exercises and feedback from the training consultant.

Objectives

For delegates to:

  • Recognise the importance of research and planning before any negotiation
  • Identify the tactics commonly employed in negotiations
  • Gain an insight into different negotiation styles
  • Develop their own personal styles of negotiating
  • Ensure that they can identify, manage and turn differences into a commercial advantage

Key topics covered

  1. Professional contract negotiation
  2. What is contract negotiation?
  3. What is negotiable?
  4. Overview of contract negotiation approaches
  5. Negotiating styles and ethics
  6. Contract negotiation strategies
  7. Dealing with manipulative ploys
  8. Creative problem solving
  9. Negotiating with difficult people
  10. Excellent communication
  11. Cultural factors
  12. Negotiating by different methods
  13. Negotiating out of a dispute

Who would benefit?

  • Executives managing or negotiating agreements
  • Commercial managers
  • Contracts managers and executives
  • Finance managers
  • Sales support team members
  • Purchasing and procurement managers and executives
  • Business Development Managers
  • Legal professionals
  • Anyone seeking to negotiate the best deal on contracts

Objectives

For delegates to:

  • Recognise the importance of research and planning before any negotiation
  • Identify the tactics commonly employed in negotiations
  • Gain an insight into different negotiation styles
  • Develop their own personal styles of negotiating
  • Ensure that they can identify, manage and turn differences into a commercial advantage

Duration

1 day

What is this course about?

Effective contract negotiation is at the heart of commercial success. The art of contract negotiation is just as important for the support team as it is for the up-front negotiator.

This course enables delegates to successfully negotiate contracts, deals and disputes while maintaining good relationships with the other party and their advisers. The course covers a variety of effective negotiating skills and styles coupled with a detailed analysis of negotiating techniques.

The course also addresses how to negotiate a settlement of a dispute that may arise whilst the contract is in operation. The course gives the opportunity for delegates to test their own skills through the use of interactive methods including case studies, workshops, practical exercises and feedback from the training consultant.

Who would benefit?

  • Executives managing or negotiating agreements
  • Commercial managers
  • Contracts managers and executives
  • Finance managers
  • Sales support team members
  • Purchasing and procurement managers and executives
  • Business Development Managers
  • Legal professionals
  • Anyone seeking to negotiate the best deal on contracts

Objectives

For delegates to:

  • Recognise the importance of research and planning before any negotiation
  • Identify the tactics commonly employed in negotiations
  • Gain an insight into different negotiation styles
  • Develop their own personal styles of negotiating
  • Ensure that they can identify, manage and turn differences into a commercial advantage

Key topics covered

1. What is negotiation?

  • Different types of negotiation
  • Underlying tensions
  • Who is negotiating?
  • Why negotiate
  • BATNAs and WATNAs
  • The other parties’ expectations

2. Overview of negotiating approaches

(a) Streetwise Tactical Ploys

  • How to recognise them
  • How to counter them effectively
  • Why they are outdated

(b) Principled Negotiation

  • Getting to Yes
  • Getting past No
  • What kind of ‘No’ is it?

(c) Psychological Categorisation

  • The art of communication
  • Using Neuro-linguistic programming to your advantage

3. Negotiation Styles and Ethics

  • People
  • Interests
  • Options
  • Criteria

4. Negotiating Strategies

  • Planning a negotiation
  • Desk Research
  • Adopting a win-win approach
  • Consider a no deal solution
  • Aim high
  • Using simple language
  • Ask questions and then listen
  • Build solid relationships
  • Maintain personal integrity
  • Conserve concessions
  • Be patient
  • Being aware of cultural differences

5. Manipulative Ploys

  • How not to be hoodwinked
  • Examples analysed
  • Solutions discussed

6. Creative Problem Solving

  • Blue sky thinking
  • Looking for a third way
  • A fresh approach
  • Redefining the problem
  • Looking for overlapping interests

7. Negotiating with Difficult People

  • Exploring their BATNAs and WATNAs
  • What lies behind the hostility?
  • Dealing with anger
  • Building bridges
  • Making it hard for them to refuse

8. Excellent Communication

  • The power of non-verbal messages
  • How to interpret body language
  • Vocal quality
  • Verbal communication
  • How to adopt a persuasive style
  • The power of silence – the Art of doing nothing

9. Cultural Factors

  • How to research
  • How to prepare
  • Gifts, courtesies and bribes
  • Concepts of time – managing expectations

10. Negotiating by Different Methods

  • Successful telephone negotiation
  • Tips for successful meetings
  • Putting your message across by email
  • Negotiating the draft contract
  • The final draft of the agreement
  • Negotiating with head office and your own team

11. Negotiating out of a dispute

  • Finding a win-win solution
  • Playing devil’s advocate
  • Strategy in the context of a litigation
  • Overcoming power inbalances
  • Preserving the ongoing contract
  • What it takes to close a deal
Download Programme

Effective Contract Negotiation – Open Course

We run our Effective Contract Negotiation open course regularly throughout the year.

Click on any of the dropdown items below to find out more about our Effective Contract Negotiation open course.

You can view full booking terms and conditions here.

If you would prefer to, or if your question is not answered below, you can just pick up the phone and call us on 0845 130 5714 or email info@contractlawtraining.co.uk.

Frequently Asked Question's

When is the next course and how do I book?

The next course is taking place on Wednesday 29 April 2026.

You can book this course using the registration form at the top right of this page.

Who is the training consultant?

Our Effective Contract Negotiation open course in London is delivered by Rebecca Attree. Rebecca delivers our suite of contract law open courses encompassing Business Contract Law, Drafting Commercial Contracts, Intellectual Property Rights and Contract Management.

Rebecca graduated in Law from Downing College, Cambridge and qualified as a company commercial solicitor in the City of London. In 1993, Rebecca set up her own law firm, Attree & Co. specialising in contentious and non-contentious international commercial advice. Attree & Co now provides mediation services and training to corporates and individuals. Rebecca’s professional practice has led her to gain over 30 years’ experience in negotiating and drafting commercial contracts and resolving disputes.

Rebecca has over 20 years’ experience in devising courses and providing training in Europe in business contract law, international law, corporate law, intellectual property, negotiation and dispute resolution for both public and in-house courses.

Other topics include client care and professional standards and comparative law. She has particular expertise in advising on cross-border agreements that raise issues of applicable law and jurisdiction.

Clients include large corporates in engineering and manufacturing, banking, utilities, emergency services, law firms and Law Society groups in the UK and overseas including Airbus, Barclays Bank plc, Taylor Wessing, Bird & Bird, Eurofighter, Ernst & Young. Weil Gotshal Manges LLP, Heroux Devtek and the BBC., corporate law, joint ventures, comparative law, agency, distribution, intellectual property, research and development, competition law, mediation, and dispute resolution.

As an Accredited Mediator, Rebecca assists parties to find successful long-term solutions to complex disputes, without the cost of going to court or arbitration. Her main sectors of expertise are mediating commercial contracts, aviation, property, construction and family office. She is fully accredited to mediate in the UK, the US, and online, and has considerable experience of international disputes. More than 90% of cases she has mediated have been resolved within a day or less.

Publications

– International Commercial Agreements (Thorogood).
– European Product Liabilities (Butterworths).

How much does it cost?

This one-day training programme is priced at £699 +VAT per delegate.

 

You can pay for the course by credit card or request an invoice.

Do you offer multiple booking discounts?
If you are booking more than one delegate onto this course, you will benefit from a multiple booking discount of 10% for the second delegate and 15% for each additional delegate after that.
Where is the course being held?

This training programme will be taking place as a virtual classroom event.

How many people attend the course?
  • We never have more than 15 delegates attending any of our open courses
  • We also only allow a maximum of 4 delegates from the same organisation to attend the course
What time does the course start and finish?
Coffee and registration is from 9am. All courses begin at 9.30am and training ends no later than 5pm.
I can't make the next date, do you have other dates planned in?

Yes. We run this course regularly throughout the year. Call us on 0845 130 5714 or email info@contractlawtraining.co.uk and we will tell you the next available date(s).

Alternatively click here to be taken to our open courses page where you will find our full course schedule. To only view dates for this particular programme, simply close this window and click on the blue button immediately below the red ‘Book Now’ button.

Can you help with hotels near the venue?

We are able to supply you with a list of local hotels with whom we have agreed special rates. This is available on request by emailing info@contractlawtraining.co.uk

What is the dress code?

There is no strict dress code for our events – please feel whatever you feel most comfortable in for learning. As a guide, most of our delegates choose a ‘smart casual’ attire.

I have special dietary requirements, can these be catered for?

Please let us know your dietary requirements in advance of the course and we will inform the onsite caterers.

I am not sure this course is right for me, can I discuss it with someone prior to booking?

By all means, please call us on 0845 130 5714 or send an email to info@contractlawtraining.co.uk.

Alternatively you can click on the big red enquiry button at the top of the page to send us a message.

Do you offer this course in-company?

We can deliver this course for your organisation / team using your own contracts to bring the course to life. Simply call us on 0845 130 5714 or send an email to info@contractlawtraining.co.uk.

Alternatively you can click on the big red enquiry button at the top of the page to send us a message.

In-company training

Are you interested in running this course for your team or organisation?

Our contract negotiation courses can be delivered on an in-company basis for up to 15 people.

All in-company courses are tailored to meet the unique circumstances of the client organisation and delegates. We will take as much time as necessary upfront to understand your contract challenges and the scenarios which will be most relevant to your delegates.

We can put the focus on any area of contract law and make reference to your contracts throughout the course. On an in-company basis delegates get the opportunity to spend time consulting with one of the UK’s leading business contract law practitioners on what contract law means to them and their organisation.

From the outset we will provide you with expert advice and you will be assigned your own personal training adviser who will stay with you throughout the process.

Every team is different so we will provide you with a tailored training programme, designed around your team’s needs and focused on your desired outcomes.

All courses are followed up by a full training evaluation report and certificates of learning for each delegate. For groups of up to 15 delegates per course, our in-company training is a very cost-effective way to develop your people and improve team performance.

Get in touch today for a full quotation to suit your budget.

To discuss your requirements in more detail with one of our friendly advisers please call on 0845 130 5714 or email one of the team at info@contractlawtraining.co.uk.

Alternatively you can complete the short contact form below.

Bespoke Courses

In-company training for groups

This course is available as a bespoke programme using your own contracts.

Courses can be run at a venue of your choice and on a date of your choice.

Find out more

Contract Checklist

Is your contract ready? Download our “know your contract checklist”, a series of 30 key questions that you can use to evaluate whether any business contract is good to go.

Covering everything from defining the contract, statements and promises, performance and procedures through to remedies and risks.

Download Checklist

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Testimonials

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  • We identified a need within the business to develop the contract management skills of our key personnel and to sharpen our commercial focus, specifically in relation to contracts. We were impressed by the way GA took the time to understand our exact requirements and develop a bespoke training programme for us. During the consultation process we were reassured that GA were listening to our needs and felt confident the right programme would be delivered.

    Prior to the training we sent over some of our contracts and tenders and these were built into the training programme. This helped our people to translate the learning to their own environment and made sure the programme was not generic and off-the-shelf.

    Our training consultant was excellent, both leading up to the programme and during the training, and had a great delivery style. We were also very pleased with the levels of account management and support we received from GA throughout. We would have no hesitation in recommending GA Training as a provider of contract management training.

    Daimler AG

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    Nasmyth Group

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  • TP Group Plc decided to proactively invest in developing the commercial acumen and contractual awareness of its staff to help us to align technical expertise with an understanding of the wider commercial context. This was a new area of development for TP Group, so we needed to carefully select a provider to partner with on this initiative.

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    TP Group Plc

  • The training delivered by GA Training was focused on one of our key contracts throughout and delegates were therefore easily able to transfer and apply the learning back to our own commercial environment.

    The GA consultant delivering the training was approachable, highly knowledgeable and had a style that our delegates instantly warmed to. Throughout the training our consultant was able to relate key modules back to our business, this helped to maintain the interest of our delegates at all times and to very much bring the subject to life.

    We would definitely recommend GA Training to any organisation looking to improve the commercial acumen of its staff. The training itself was first-class and the pre and post course support and customer service we received from GA Training was excellent.

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  • BioKinetic Europe was looking to improve the contractual awareness of its senior personnel within the business and contacted GA Training to see what they could provide. From our initial enquiry onwards we felt confident that we had found the right training provider to develop the contractual awareness of our staff. The level of customer service we received from GA Training was exemplary and we were reassured throughout the process.

    The training itself was highly focused and tailored to the needs of our business at all times. The training consultant was warm and engaging and delivered the learning in a very effective way, ensuring that we could relate the learning back to our own roles.

    GA Training took the time prior to the course to review relevant contracts and made sure these were used during the training to cement the learning.

    Overall we were very pleased with our decision to use GA Training and we would have no hesitation in using GA again, or indeed recommending them as a provider of high-quality training, backed up by great customer support.

    BioKinetic Europe Limited

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    I would recommend GA to anyone looking to develop their understanding of NEC3, first-class training and support.

    Ainscough Vanguard

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    Many thanks for everything.

    Thea Gaunt, Head of Professional Development, Weil Gotshal & Manges

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    Birgitta Allett The Open University

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    Andy Keeler Soiltechnics Limited

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    Leah-Ann Watt Deloitte LLP

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    Paula Evans Aurora Fashions

  • The course was very enjoyable in both professionalism and content. I will highly recommend it to my colleagues.

    David Lumley Kidney Research

  • A fantastic and enriching two days which I feel will be of great benefit to me personally and to all the staff who attended from Barclays. Thank you.

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If you would like to talk to a specialist training consultant to understand if a course is right for you or to get reassurance that we will tailor an in-company course to meet your exact requirements then let us know.

We will set everything up for a no-obligation diagnostic and needs analysis.

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