Accordence professionals, Grande Lum, Managing Director, and Jessica Notini, Senior Consultant, have been conducting Negotiation Mastery courses through Stanford University's Continuing Studies throughout 2008 and 2009. The popularity of these open sessions speaks to the increasing realizations by and expectations of professionals to negotiate smarter and more successfully in increasingly challenging business conditions.

For optimum results, we have limited the open sessions to 24 participants. Attendees represent a range of industries and various job functions in which enhanced negotiation skills are critical. The course, Negotiation Mastery: Achieving Outstanding Results and Relationships, continues to be offered multiple times per year due to its high demand and typically registration closes early and a waiting list is maintained. The next scheduled sessions are May 9th and 16th. The interactive course offers participants practical tools and techniques for generating creative solutions in difficult situations.

Companies that are interested in designing a customized course offering to help their internal teams hone their negotiating skills should view our negotiation training solutions and contact us about on-site and virtual negotiation workshops.

Building on the theme of price-driven negotiations, Scott Roberts, Senior Consultant with Accordence, has again collaborated with Advantage Performance Group, to present "Everybody Wins When You Negotiate Well." This negotiation webinar was presented live on March 6, 2009 and is now available in pre-recorded format. Similar to his earlier presentation "Enhance Your Negotiation Success," Scott revisits the key elements of a negotiation framework in light of current and ever-changing economic challenges impacting the global marketplace.

This material is designed for sales people and management who are constantly facing price-driven negotiations and need help to increase their company's bottom-line and sales-peoples' commission during tough economic times. Scott Roberts explains how to make negotiation a competitive advantage when you learn how to discount less, or not at all.

Accordence is pleased to announce a more efficient method for clients to purchase its ICON Negotiation Approach E-Module. To facilitate registration and eliminate a separate step for payment, clients interested in the on-line negotiation course may purchase the e-module through our secure e-commerce web page. The cost of the 90 minute, self-paced, interactive program is $149 USD per person. Volume discounts are available by contacting us and furnishing details about your company, participant group size, and training requirements. A preview of the e-module is also available to explore content and format and match it to your learning style and professional development goals.

On Saturday, October 4, 2008, Grande Lum, Managing Director and Founder of Accordence®, conducted a one day NEGOTIATION MASTERY: ACHIEVING OUTSTANDING RESULTS AND RELATIONSHIPS session at Stanford University for their Continuing Studies program. The full session included individuals from a range of industries and various job functions to which their enhanced negotiating skills would be applied. The interactive course offered participants practical tools and techniques for generating creative solutions in difficult situations. This was the third public negotiation course Accordence has taught at Stanford University, and the next open session is scheduled for February 2009.

Accordence® Founder and Managing Director Grande Lum was recently named Professor and Director of the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR) at UC Hastings Law School in San Francisco, California. CNDR mounts innovative conferences, conducts research and serves students through an extensive curriculum, clinics and competitions. CNDR was the recipient of the 2007 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Award for Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution education. Hastings student teams have won numerous competitions including The Negotiation Challenge in Leipzig, Germany in 2008. Grande will be teaching, researching and leading the Center through its next phase of development as one of the top dispute resolution centers in the country. Grande will continue to contribute his expertise to Accordence and create cutting-edge training curricula and consulting programs, as well as devote time to providing high quality client service.

Accordence founder and published author Grande Lum is interviewed for the article - One Tough Customer - on overcoming a difficult person in negotiation, which was published June 13, 2008 online at Selling Power: Success Strategies for Sales Management.

Heather Meeker Green, Chief Operating Officer of Accordence®, presented at the 5th Annual New England Regional Women In Leadership Summit sponsored by CWLA and New England Network in Mystic, Connecticut: GET OFF THE ESCALATOR: HOW TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS EFFECTIVELY.

Just Negotiate® Offers New Interactive Components

Negotiation is a key skill in today's world - a skill that is used every day in customer interactions. However, next to public speaking, negotiation is one of the most feared and undesirable of business activities. Savvy organizations are instead shifting their organizational mindset to think of negotiation as an opportunity for their employees to create value and develop stronger results in agreements and deals.

Co-developed by procurement veteran, Tony Delgado, Accordence's Just Negotiate for Procurement® workshop is a fast-paced, interactive session in which procurement and all those who interact with suppliers can improve their partnering and negotiation skills and their ability to achieve successful agreements. During the workshop, participants learn the ICON Negotiation Framework with which to prepare, conduct and review negotiations.

The Power of 3 Persuasion course, from Accordence, is a one-day training program intended to enhance your ability to persuade and influence others. In this world of decreasing consensus-based decision making, the need to persuade and influence others is growing.

Accordence and Option Six have launched a revolutionary learning tool that enhances people's ability to negotiate collaboratively and successfully through a simple and memorable framework: ICON®.