From Car Sales to Program Management: Using Data to Negotiate
How my recent car purchase shed new light on program negotiation
I was finally ready to buy a new car, and like any sane person, I dreaded the upcoming negotiation. Seeing an opportunity, though, to make lemons into lemonade, I tried something new: looking for data - any data - that could help. What I found gave me the confidence to negotiate like never before.
As program management professionals (PgMPs*), we often overlook the prevalence of negotiation in our everyday work. What’s left is a missed opportunity, particularly as we are constantly collecting valuable, persuasive information. As PgMPs, we need to better connect our performance monitoring and record-keeping skills to our role as the program’s key advocate. Through our data, we can become better negotiators.
A negotiation gone well
Through trial and error, I’ve learned the value of applying the same rigor to my personal life as I do managing programs. This was, unfortunately, a lesson written in blood. I once had to fire a contractor for a bathroom renovation while eight months pregnant, and ate crow for the poorly written contract terms. I would never have let that contract pass at work. Why did I ever take shortcuts with my own money?
So, now I get a bit quirky compared to the normal consumer. For this summer’s “Project New Car,” I spent an inordinate amount of time cross-comparing hundreds of features to identify the exact make, model, and trim of my perfect car. Once I made up my mind, I cringed at the looming negotiation approaching. But I was significantly motivated to a) get the best deal possible and b) find a way to avoid feeling underconfident.
For those who have not participated in the car-buying process in the United States, it’s a supremely awkward human ritual with tremendous theatrics involved. The salesperson continuously circles between you and the “Wizard of Oz” manager in the back office. Occasionally, lines like “I can’t go any lower!” or “If we sold it for that price, we'd be losing money!” float over to within earshot – even though the rest of the conversation remains quiet. Each round takes an absurdly long time, so you are also working against your own instincts to say “yes” just so you can escape more quickly.
Like a casino, the car dealership has home team advantage and is designed to win. Between my dread of the impending awkwardness and awareness of the built-in disadvantages for consumers, I needed something more by my side and sought out such friendship in data. I didn’t know what that information would look like, but I knew it would be something around fair pricing: enough of it so I could walk away if the negotiation went poorly.
I started ferreting about the Internet to see what I could find. After a few failed attempts (FYI, TrueCar was not helpful), I created an adequate market assessment of that exact car in my immediate region. Specifically, I:
Identified every dealer of that brand within 50 miles (thank you, Google Maps).
Checked every dealer's website for their car inventory to see how many cars they had in stock in my preferred make/model/trim.
Compiled a spreadsheet of that car inventory, as well as any advertised rebates
It took about two hours to complete, but ultimately, I could tell you there were thirteen dealerships in my region, only seven of which had my preferred car in stock. I knew there were only nineteen such cars available in my area, and how many were in each color [(Red (3); Black (5); Gray (5); White (3); Blue (3)]. Further, I learned which two dealerships offered the highest upfront rebates, the best starting point.
Most interestingly, I could see that the dealership where I had test-driven a car several weeks before had only that one car in stock, and it had still not sold. A leading indicator that these cars were not selling fast, and I was in a buyer’s market.
By putting public, but widely dispersed data together, I drew back the curtain to my upcoming negotiation. While I never actually brought up these numbers explicitly at the car dealership, that information gave me the confidence to negotiate hard because I knew – not guessed – what a fair price was for the vehicle and where I would go next if I couldn’t get a good deal. I came prepared and ended up buying a new car on the first try.
Car buying to program management…
Negotiating for a car is admittedly very different from the typical negotiations found in program management. Outside of potentially negotiating contracts with an outside service or salary for an incoming employee, program negotiations are more often about finding agreement on a myriad of small details across many stakeholders. Then, keeping everyone continuously updated on the program’s progress so everyone’s ready to collaborate when disruptions inevitably arise.
Still, I share this story to emphasize the power of data in any negotiation, particularly if you are the weaker party in the talks. As program management professionals already collect all kinds of data, we can use that information to move beyond our role as communicators to become fuller participants in the decision-making process.
Negotiation in The Project Management Institute’s (PMI’s) literature
In reviewing PMI’s major works on program and project management to gain their take on negotiation, they do not explicitly define negotiation, but they do mention the term across their books.
Starting at square one: What is a negotiation? While there are many definitions in business literature, my preferred one is simple:
Negotiation is a strategic discussion between two or more parties who try to reach an acceptable agreement for all involved (1).
In a word search, “negotiation” and “negotiate” appear twenty-seven times across “The Standard for Program Management”, “The Standard for Project Management,” and “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).” Key themes included:
Negotiation is often stated right alongside communication; the terms are used nearly synonymously.
Negotiation is given a place of prominence as the leading competency in “The Standard for Program Management - 5th Edition” (2 p.22).
Negotiation is also listed as a “change model” within the PMBOK guide (3 p.169 - 170)
Beyond this titling, negotiation is dispersed throughout the literature, indicating it is a persistent skill used in many activities of a project or program management professional’s work.
The two leading activities where negotiation is referenced are stakeholder management and procurement management.
In project management, negotiation is also listed as being used in the planning, project work, and delivery performance domains.
Across these central bodies of literature, PMI continuously acknowledges negotiation as a core skill set. Still, the discussion of how to negotiate as a middle manager or tips for navigating conflict never gets too tactical.
A deeper dive into negotiation for PgMPs
Everyday negotiation for a PgMP is about playing the long game. It’s about keeping the diverging interests of your project team, leadership, and other stakeholders together enough so that everyone’s prepared to find a solution when the next conflict inevitably arises. You do this primarily through high quality, proactive communication.
This work is completed through status reports, presentations, and agenda setting, where you consistently provide a framing for the program’s goals and progress, while also building relationships and trust with your stakeholders. This diligence then pays dividends when the program hits a snag and everyone’s prepared to make informed decisions and communicate through each other’s stress responses.
Unfortunately, a lot of this administrative work can get misconstrued as simple communication skills, and PgMPs may devalue their actual role in the negotiation process. For example, earlier in my career, when I worked at a non-profit hospital with many layers of leadership, I often viewed my role as a helper and communicator rather than a negotiator and leader. I undervalued the tools that I did have to lead the program.
PgMPs hold tremendous soft power and influence because you are the most informed on the program. You choose what information to bring to the table and how to frame it. An act that strongly shapes the opinions of your leadership. Over time, as you gain trust and experience, good leadership should directly ask for your recommendations on how to overcome conflicts. In the absence of competing information from other layers in the organization, they should be highly motivated to follow your advice as the expert.
The lesson is, do not let your position in middle-management fool you, you are precisely in a position to a) hold an authentic and strong opinion about the best next steps for your program and b) craft a recommendation to promote and potentially defend against differing views from across your stakeholders. You are a negotiator, and the more you embrace the role, the more control you will hold over the trajectory of your program.
Data: The essential ingredient
The catch is that, unlike executive leadership, which can state an opinion solely based on their experience and expertise, the bar is higher for PgMPs. In an opinion vs. opinion debate, the higher-ranking authority wins. The way to be an effective negotiator and ultimate advocate for your program comes through having mastery over your data to prove your point.
Fortunately, as a program management professional, we are already tasked with keeping track of a lot of data. Coming back to PMI’s guidance, the recommendations for documentation, logs, and data tracked are extensive. To name a few:
Program Management Plan
Change log
Stakeholder Register
Risk Register
Issue log
Benefits Management Plan
Status Reports
These are the types of resources that you can draw from to support your argument for how to navigate through a challenge. It can also give you the confidence you need to face off with a divisive stakeholder who far outranks you. We left my car-buying story in the rearview mirror a while ago, but I’m bringing it back. Because I was familiar with the local car market, I could confidently negotiate. You know more about your program than anyone else; you can use that knowledge to negotiate the best path forward for your program through conflict and challenges.
Negotiation in the age of Artificial Intelligence
As I discussed in my first article, “The Creative Future of Program Management,” Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set up to make the collection, analysis, and communication of all these data sources far easier. The time and effort needed to track this information will decrease, while the amount of high-quality data will increase. With these basics automated, the value of a program management professional will change to demand more complex data analysis and people skills. Negotiation with data-backed recommendations will be a leading skill in the modern program management professional's arsenal.
Prepare now. I recommend paying closer attention to the dynamics at play when you do negotiate for your program. Further, take the time to debrief or document these experiences. Also, look for opportunities to play a bigger role in the decision-making process and make sure to leverage your data. Stronger negotiation skills are attainable, and they will be a must-have skill for leading PgMPs.
Good luck out there.
“The Middle”
This article’s song pairing is “The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey. Looking past the romance angle, it’s a song all about negotiation. Particularly, make sure to listen for that ticking clock sound. It makes you feel like you're in that pressure-cooker of a time-limited, meaningful, yet awfully contentious conversation.
References
Dhir R. Negotiation: Stages and Strategies [Internet]. Investopedia. 2024. Available from: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/negotiation.asp
Project Management Institute PMI. The Standard for Program Management - Fifth Edition. Project Management Institute; 2024.
Project Management Institute. Guide to the project management body of knowledge and the standard for project management. 7th ed. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute; 2021.
*In “The Non-Profit Program,” I use the term program management professional with the acronym PgMP to refer to anyone working or interested in program management, regardless of their official job title at work or credentials. This usage differs from the typical professional usage, where PgMP indicates the successful completion of the Program Management Professional certification offered through the Project Management Institute (PMI).