Negotiation Resilience
Background & Objectives
In today’s challenging environments, negotiation resilience is a skill that professionals increasingly need to master. This is essential for achieving successful outcomes.
In 2024, Citizens Advice Bureau invited Impact Factory to deliver a bespoke Negotiation Skills training programme. The programme was for their Corporate Fundraising and Trust & Foundations teams. These were high-performing, committed professionals known for their collaborative and people-centred approach. They needed to build resilience when negotiating.
The brief reflected a key transition: they had to enhance their negotiation resilience to proactively secure new funding opportunities without compromising the values that underpin their work. Although skilled communicators, they had not previously received dedicated negotiation training. Some team members were understandably apprehensive about engaging in challenging conversations, especially those related to budgets or saying “no.”
Impact Factory was asked to create a space where the teams could explore new tools and build confidence in a way that felt authentic to their culture. The focus was on constructing negotiation resilience strategies to boost calm and strategic action under pressure.
Programme Overview
The one-day, in-person session was highly participatory, with an emphasis on reflection, discussion, and live practice. Delegates were encouraged to step outside their comfort zones in a safe and supportive environment, enabling them to face negotiation challenges with resilience.
The tone of the day was grounded, practical and energising — aligned with the collaborative ethos of Citizens Advice Bureau. However, it was purposefully challenging in the right places.
Key Content Areas
- The Negotiation Cycle
- Understanding the stages: preparation, engagement, and closing
- Personal Style
- Building on what already works and recognising new options
- Influencing Levers
- Exploring different motivators through Cialdini’s six principles
- Handling ‘No’
- Constructive techniques for managing refusal or resistance are essential for building resilience in tough negotiations
- Confidence and Flexibility
- Dialling behaviours up or down as needed
- Internal Influence
- Shaping conversations across departments, not just externally
- Pause, Poise and Timing
- Building impact through stillness and intentionality—integral to negotiation resilience
Outcomes
By the end of the session, delegates had:
- Identified their individual strengths across each stage of negotiation—critical for resilience
- Practised applying curiosity and structure in shaping their offers
- Experimented with new behaviours in a range of negotiation scenarios, bolstering their resilience
- Gained confidence in asking challenging questions and dealing with tough responses
- Reframed negotiation as an opportunity to build trust — not erode it
The session received excellent feedback and sparked a broader interest in embedding negotiation skills into future learning. We’re proud to support the Citizens Advice Bureau team in evolving how they approach influence and fundraising. We look forward to working with them again.
See What We Can Do For You
If you like what you’ve seen and would like to know more please contact our team.
Working with Citizens Advice on their Negotiation Resilience programme was an absolute pleasure.
As trainers, we truly valued the group’s openness, focused energy, and genuine curiosity in exploring new approaches. It was clear from the start that everyone came ready to engage thoughtfully, which made the session both lively and rewarding.
