At IMPAX we are a lot like you - we sell, manage relationships, deliver our services, participate in too many conference calls... Like you, we also come under pressure from Procurement. Recently I heard from the procurement department of a client we have been working with for several years. We must have come up on their radar because the sales team is considering a sizeable rollout of training and coaching with IMPAX. The Procurement group is just doing their job in trying to help the group make good use of their funds, but it came to us in the form of a request for a sizeable discount. My response focused on the strong win-win relationship we have with their organization and the considerable value we have already created in our work together. I also brought out the point that we can work together to find the right level of relationship that makes the most of their available budget.

I think we might have been speaking different languages! We'll see...