1. Copyright 2004, Juan I. Sanchez, Ph.D., All Rights Reserved 1 Navigating the Contracting Meeting (A Summary from Peter Block’s “Flawless Consulting”) StepDescription 1. Personal acknowledgement Help increase comfort level between two parties (e.g., I was surprised that you were interested in what we are doing. I hope we can work something out) 2. Communicate problem understanding Restate your perception of problem; acknowledge the problem uniqueness OR express need to identify uniqueness; reassure the presence of solutions to this problem. 3. Identify client “wants” and “offers” Options: Study; recommendations; training program; advice; support; personnel evaluation; equipment; cost efficiencies. Ask for constraints (time, resources) and what support is offered to you. 4. Declare consultant “wants” and “offers” Essential wants: access to people, resources, records; enough time; top mgmt. commitment; consideration. Offers: clear picture & recommendations-results if 50/50 responsibility.

2. Copyright 2004, Juan I. Sanchez, Ph.D., All Rights Reserved 2 StepDescription 5. Reaching an agreement (OR getting stuck on Wants & Offers!) Restate agreement (“It looks like we agree on how to proceed. I am really happy about that”) 6. Asking for feedback about control & commitment Weak contract if: (1) entered under coercion or (2) felt had no control 7. Give praise and support to the client’s feedback seeking. Praise and support the client’s willingness to solicit feedback –even if the customer breathes fire! 8. Restate actions Make sure the client and you know what each will do next. Navigating the Contracting Meeting (Continued)

3. Copyright 2004, Juan I. Sanchez, Ph.D., All Rights Reserved 3 Role-Play Exercise (Continued) Joe/Jane Consultant’s Role: Ms. Mirtha Claym recently sent you an email; she said that a friend of yours told her that you do training. She needs you to teach a class for two people on management skills. She is asking you to call her back about this. Her email does not include her job or company info, only the letters “HR” underneath her name. You have a couple of minutes to get ready to make your call to Ms. Claym… Joe/Jane consultant Mirtha Claym’s phone ringing

4. Copyright 2004, Juan I. Sanchez, Ph.D., All Rights Reserved 4 Role-Play Exercise (Continued) Client’s Role: You are Mirtha Claym, HR Manager of a local corporation in the import/export flower business. You have concluded that the procurement and sales managers have really bad tempers that get them in trouble all the time. Other employees and clients have complained about this. You believe that giving them management training will solve the problem, and you have contacted a consultant about it. When the consultant calls you, you’ll insist that: (1) the problem is due to the managers’ bad temper, which you are convinced can be solved by training them. (2) you are busy and would not like to meet the consultant; just ask her/him to send you a proposal. (3) you are concerned about fees because you have a limited budget; you have another contact that will train each manager for $400 a piece. You should resist the consultant’s attempts to deviate from this course of action, but you can bend your rules only if you find the consultant’s arguments to be very persuasive.You are welcome to make up details as the consultant asks for them, but just make sure that the story remains credible.

5. Copyright 2004, Juan I. Sanchez, Ph.D., All Rights Reserved 5 StepObserver’s Notes 1. Personal acknowledgement to help increase comfort level between two parties. 2. Communicate problem understanding by restating your perception of problem. 3. Identify client “wants” and “offers” (constraints and support). 4. Declare consultant “wants” and “offers” (including 50/50 responsibility). 5. Restate agreement (or get stuck in wants and offers…) 6.Ask for feedback about control & commitment. 7. Give praise and support to the client’s feedback seeking. 8. Restate actions to make sure the client and you know what each will do next. Role-Play Exercise, Observer’s Notes