A thirst for knowledge \u2013 a ClearCourse must-have!<\/h2>\n
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The desire to learn new things – that thirst for knowledge and being open to your ways of working being challenged – is vital for any successful ClearCourser. People with that outlook will always be searching for inspiration, ideas and concepts that challenge how they work and think. <\/p>\n
And, as a business, it\u2019s important we encourage and complement that with more structured learning and development \u2013 something members of our Membership Services Division did recently when they took part in a two-day workshop, The Art of Sales Negotiation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe course was led by Alan McCarthy of The Resource Development Centre. He\u2019s an expert negotiator \u2013 he\u2019s been involved in all types of negotiations, including corporate, diplomatic and even hostage, and he was a fantastic facilitator,\u201d<\/strong> explains Jeremy Jalie, Business Development Director of one of our brilliant ClearCourse businesses, Silverbear. <\/p>\n \u201cPhones and laptops were put away, and we were all fully immersed in the sessions.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n Without giving away all of Alan\u2019s secrets, at the heart of the training was the concept of avoiding negotiation if you can. This may sound counter-intuitive when it comes to sales negotiations, but there\u2019s a huge amount of wisdom in that sentiment. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you can understand what it is both parties want out of a deal, know what the minimum is you want out of it, and know the value in what you\u2019ve got on the table, then it can give you the confidence to avoid a situation where you\u2019re bartering on price,\u201d<\/strong> says Jeremy. <\/p>\n \u201cAlan used a methodology called the jellyfish, which essentially helps you work out your ideal and worst-case position and the ideal and worst-case position of whoever you\u2019re negotiating with. By using that as a barometer all the way through, you can gauge what you need to do to reach a conclusion that works for both parties without giving too much away.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Avoiding negotiating with yourself was another key concept. If you know your baseline and your must-haves before you enter a negotiation, then you can\u2019t be tempted to compromise on those. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n However, the true measure of any training course is how useful it is after the event. We\u2019ve likely all experienced those training sessions that seem great at the time but in hindsight, make little or no difference to our day-to-day. <\/p>\n Of course, part of that is down to the individual\u2019s desire to implement what they\u2019ve learned, but a huge part of it is about the quality of the training, how much value you see in it immediately, and how effective it is when you initially implement it.<\/p>\n On the second day of the course, the group of eight split into two teams to battle it out in a \u2018real-life\u2019 negotiation, which became rather competitive. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were up against a team that included my boss. We didn\u2019t win, and I was pretty disappointed because it all became very competitive!\u201d<\/strong> laughs Jeremy. <\/p>\n That experience was important to help the group put what they had learned into practice, and after the course, Alan sent Jeremy a copy of his book, with a dedication that read, \u2018Jeremy, don\u2019t forget rule number one: don\u2019t negotiate unless you need to\u2019. <\/p>\n \u201cIt reminded me that\u2019s why we\u2019d lost that negotiation; I\u2019d tried to keep negotiating when in reality, we already had a pretty good deal on the table.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n Those experiences have helped those who attended the course to put new tactics and approaches into action straight away, and Jeremy\u2019s seen an immediate benefit. <\/p>\n We were taught a way to summarise things at different points of negotiation, which enables you to remove yourself from the moment, and assess where you\u2019re at for both parties. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve also been using the jellyfish methodology to get a clear idea of what we want from a deal and what\u2019s important to the other party. In some cases, you can go into a conversation knowing that something that has relatively little impact for you \u2013 for example, payment terms or additional training \u2013 might be hugely important for the other party.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n The prospect of taking two days out of the office to go on a training course may bring you out in a cold sweat \u2013 it seems we\u2019re all so busy doing the nine-to-five that we couldn\u2019t possibly take that time out. <\/p>\n That\u2019s where the concept of important versus urgent comes into play. And spending time doing training like this may not be urgent \u2013 but it\u2019s incredibly important. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re used to working flat-out, so having the opportunity to step out and think about things more theoretically or in a more conceptual way is really helpful,\u201d<\/strong> says Jeremy. <\/p>\n There\u2019s an immediate benefit to doing something practical like this \u2013 you\u2019re learning things you can put into practice right away that will have a positive impact. <\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s also motivating to spend time with and learn from other people in the company who are doing the same thing as you are every day.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Jeremy, of course, is just one of more than 800 ClearCoursers who each have their own story to tell when it comes to future-proofing themselves and their skills. <\/p>\n As part of creating a brilliant business, we\u2019re intent on providing opportunities to gain new skills, new ways of thinking and new knowledge to all of our people \u2013 whether through formal training or general idea sharing and challenging each other as we go. <\/p>\n After all, that\u2019s how we work better together. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Future-proofed is one of our FAIR\u2122 Values here at ClearCourse, and by that, we mean we constantly seek out innovation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lirp.cdn-website.com\/1df79318\/dms3rep\/multi\/opt\/Jeremy+Jalie+Business+Development+Director+of+one+of+our+brilliant+ClearCourse+businesses+Silverbear-1920w.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
<\/p>\nPutting theory into practice<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lirp.cdn-website.com\/1df79318\/dms3rep\/multi\/opt\/Future-proofing+our+team+group-1920w.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe importance of adding to your knowledge<\/h2>\n