Overview
Course overview
Selling and negotiating effectively are skills that make a measurable difference to commercial outcomes and they can be learned and refined. This short course gives professionals a rigorous, practical grounding in both disciplines. From understanding buyer psychology and structuring a consultative sales approach to preparing for high-stakes negotiations, managing concessions and closing confidently, learners develop a repeatable commercial toolkit. The course draws on established frameworks including SPIN Selling and principled negotiation, making it equally relevant for sales professionals, managers and entrepreneurs who negotiate as part of their role.
What you will study
Move from a product-led to a needs-led selling approach. Learn how to use diagnostic questioning to understand what a buyer genuinely needs, how to position your solution as the answer to a real problem and how to build the trusted advisor relationships that generate long-term commercial value.
Develop a practical understanding of how buyers make decisions: the emotional and rational factors at play, the role of risk perception, the influence of social proof and authority, and the common cognitive biases that affect purchasing decisions. Use this understanding to design more effective commercial approaches.
Build a systematic approach to handling objections that converts resistance into progress rather than conflict. Learn how to anticipate common objections, listen for the real concern behind the stated objection and respond in a way that strengthens rather than damages the relationship.
Learn how to prepare rigorously for negotiations: how to define your BATNA, set your target and walkaway positions, identify the other side's interests and constraints, plan your concession strategy and build the coalitions you may need to reach agreement.
Develop a repertoire of ethical closing approaches for different selling situations: how to read buying signals, how to create urgency without pressure, how to ask for the business clearly and how to handle the final round of objections that arise just before commitment.
Learn the follow-up disciplines that convert a single transaction into a long-term commercial relationship. Covers post-sale relationship management, account review processes, identifying cross-sell and upsell opportunities and building the loyalty that makes clients resistant to competitive approaches.
Develop the ability to structure deals that create genuine value for both parties. Covers the key variables in a commercial negotiation, how to package concessions, how to use creative deal structures to unlock deals that appear deadlocked and how to document agreements clearly.
Build a systematic approach to managing a sales pipeline: how to qualify opportunities rigorously, how to prioritise your time across the pipeline, how to forecast accurately and how to use pipeline data to identify and address the bottlenecks that constrain revenue growth.
Develop the long-term relationship-building skills that distinguish consistently successful commercial professionals. Covers how to build trust over time, how to maintain relationships through adversity, how to add value beyond the transaction and how to build networks that generate consistent referrals.
Learn how to quantify and communicate the value your solution delivers to a specific customer in their specific context. Covers value proposition design, ROI and business case construction, reference selling and the art of making a compelling, evidence-based case for your offering.
Who is this for?
Sales professionals, account managers, business development executives, entrepreneurs and managers who negotiate contracts, partnerships or commercial terms and want to improve both their commercial results and professional relationships.
Learning outcome
Participants leave with a structured sales methodology, a negotiation preparation framework and the confidence to approach commercial conversations with greater strategy, skill and composure.
Assessment and delivery style
Teaching is designed to be interactive, applied and professionally relevant. Activities may include case discussion, guided exercises, workplace examples, short presentations, reflective planning and tutor-led feedback.
