The Buyers Toolkit

In order to buy well it is important to understand a few basic principles and apply a series of tools and approaches in given situations. The Buyer's Toolkit distills all the best practice tools for professional buying and negotiating into a simple, jargon-free framework that can be picked up and applied by anyone who buys. The book seeks to transform how individuals view and practise buying so they know when to influence a situation and what to do to buy well. The Buyer's Toolkit has a simple chapter layout, contains graphics and models, and a simple flow of tools through the book with an overarching framework, that glues them together. Covering different buying scenarios, understanding and defining the requirements, choosing the right deal and supplier, negotiation, managing the contract and the suppliers, fixing problems and sustainable buying, this comprehensive guide will help you boost your advantage as a buyer.

Nothing has changed the markets more in the last few years than the advent of direct access, the combination of NASDAQ Level II quotes and direct order routing which together enable savvy traders to "hit" bids and offers and go up against the market makers. But just having access to these tools is not enough. Knowing how to use the tools-quickly and expertly-is key. In The NASDAQ Trader's Toolkit, a former market maker reveals the secrets of NASDAQ trading systems.

Buying a home is exciting and, let's face it, complicated. This booklet is a toolkit that can help you make better choices along your path to owning a home.

Highly effective negotiation skills are an essential element of a purchasing professional's toolkit. Negotiation for Purchasing Professionals provides a step-by-step approach to delivering winning negotiations and getting game changing results. It provides purchasers with the necessary tools and tactics for a detailed, planned approach to negotiation. Jonathan O'Brien shifts the emphasis away from relying mostly upon personality to a more structured approach that enables anyone to negotiate effectively, even when up against a formidable opponent. This approach allows the purchasing professional or the buying team to evaluate the supplier in advance, assess the sales team, and tailor their negotiation strategy depending on cultural differences, personality traits and game theory. Negotiation for Purchasing Professionals provides a strong framework for discussion in advance of the meeting, allowing the negotiator to plan their agenda, objectives and tactics. The book is based upon Red Sheet Methodology, a proven and collaborative technique used by many companies globally. If you are in a buying role, this book will increase your confidence and transform your ability to secure winning outcomes and better business results. Negotiation for Purchasing Professionals was short listed for the ACA-Bruel Prize and was Specially Commended at the Gala Dinner 2013 organised by the Association of Purchasing and Supply Chain (CESA) of HEC School of Management in Paris. Negotiation for Purchasing Professionals is the perfect companion to Jonathan O'Brien's other books Category Management in Purchasing and Supplier Relationship Management. Used together, they provide a complete and powerful strategic purchasing toolkit.

strategy, but we also focus on execution. We talk about organizational design, and also refect on leadership practices. Our assumption is that in a dynamic world, leaders at all levels, have to constantly switch gears, wear different hats, and na- gate at different altitudes. They have to think about the “total” enterprise, not in terms of compartmentalized silos or felds of functional expertise. Much like a g- eral contractor, they have to draw on specialized expertise, as and when needed, yet keep the big picture in mind. Our hope is that our diagnostic tools can help teams develop a shared frame of reference and generate cross-functional dialogue. The third driving force behind this second edition is the gradual convergence between the worlds of entrepreneurial start-ups and challenges facing established corporations. Innovation, agility, and initiative are no longer the exclusive preserve of start-ups. Established companies are looking for ways to re-invent themselves, to innovate, to think creatively, and to make their enterprises more fexible, agile and entrepreneurial. We have had the good fortune to sit at the intersection of these two worlds. We hope our ideas can beneft both groups. We set out to provide a “buffet table”, a menu of options that can be helpful for the two ends of the spectrum.

This practice guide on procurement strategy brings together methods and tools used by global purchasers across different industries. The authors lay major focus on the themes of global sourcing, risk management, and the dynamic topic of negotiation strategy. The authors present their perspectives on all important questions of strategic procurement such as: how to manage a heterogeneous supplier structure across different branches and how to deal with partners from diverse cultures? How to solve procurement crisis and proactively avoid them? How does off-shore team management work and how to increase the value-add for both internal and external purchasing? These themes are discussed along with numerous practice-based cases. The authors lay an ideal ground for global purchasers to help with their strategic and operational needs, including technological topics such as e-procurement.

In this essential guide, Meghan Casey outlines a step-by-step approach for successful content strategy, from planning and creating your content to delivering and managing it. Armed with this book, you can confidently tackle difficult activities like explaining clearly to your boss or client what's wrong with their content, getting the budget to do content work, and aligning stakeholders on a common vision. Having The Content Strategy Toolkit at your side is like hiring your own personal consulting firm. You get a complete array of instructions, tools, and templates for most challenges you'll face. In this practical and relevant guide, you'll learn how to: Identify problems with your content and persuade your bosses it's worth the time and resources to do it right Assemble a stellar team for your content project Prepare your organization for content transformation Make sense of your business environment and understand your audience Align stakeholders on business goals and user needs Set a compass for your content and decide how to measure success Create, maintain, and govern on-strategy content You'll learn how to treat content like the strategic asset that it is. "Quality content increases value. Poor-quality content destroys value. It's as simple as that. Meghan's book has specific, practical, and immediately actionable ideas that will help you increase the quality of your content."—Gerry McGovern, CEO, Customer Carewords "This second edition goes deep into three integral topics for content leaders—assembling cross-disciplinary teams, evaluating processes, and building a content playbook. If you're looking to build a new practice or retool an existing one, this book will help you succeed.—Natalie Marie Dunbar, Author, From Solo to Scaled: Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice

In marketing, as in life, a picture is easily worth a thousand words. Packed with illustrations, this book features charts, graphs and models that can be used to: select target markets; cultivate marketing innovation and creativity; position products or markets; analyze budgets and set prices; forecast opportunities; create a winning strategy; enhance teamwork and build consensus.

Category Management in Purchasing is a comprehensive guide to strategic category management, providing a step-by-step guide to its implementation and use. This book provides the necessary tools, techniques and applications that will enable the reader to implement this cost saving purchasing method. The 3rd edition of Category Management in Purchasing has been rigorously updated to reflect the latest thinking in the field. Jonathan O'Brien shows how a strategic approach needs to work effectively together with other approaches, such as Supplier Relationship Management. He has added important sections on governance, included more supplier and supply chain tools, and introduced a pragmatic route for smaller businesses or those who need step-by-step advice.The book provides case studies of real companies, including: IKEA, The Body Shop, NHS, Heinz, Cardiff Council, and GlaxoSmithKline.

A well-designed, relevant, and highly utilized sales playbook creates teams that engage with more prospects, produce more pipeline, and close more deals. A playbook creates more consistent top performers, more quickly. It will also close the gap between your top performers and everyone else. Playbooks are living tools that must continue to be developed, revised, and curated over time. Growing companies are constantly hiring new people, promoting internally, entering into new markets, and facing direct or unforeseen competition. In order to drive success, an understanding of how the business operates, what has worked in the past, what is presently working, and what is anticipated to work in the future is required.