Negotiation is often seen as a skill reserved for procurement experts. Yet at Swile, a groundbreaking approach has trained 200 employees to become autonomous negotiators. How? By turning learning into a fun, accessible experience inspired by the techniques of elite FBI and RAID negotiators.

Negotiation: A Skill Everyone Can Learn

In many organizations, negotiation remains centralized within the procurement department. This approach creates bottlenecks and limits team autonomy. Swile chose to break this model by democratizing this essential skill.

As Éric explains: “To stop being afraid of negotiating, you need actionable levers. So we asked ourselves—how can we explain negotiation in a way that’s simple, with actionable levers, and show them that it can be fun?”

This vision radically transforms the perception of negotiation, making it accessible—and even enjoyable—for all employees.

A Method Inspired by Elite Negotiators

The Experts Behind the Training

The program is built on the expertise of renowned professional negotiators:

• Laurent Combalbert, former RAID negotiator

• Chris Voss, former FBI negotiator

These references bring credibility and proven effectiveness in the most critical situations. Their methods, adapted to a corporate context, provide concrete tools that can be applied immediately.

Learning Through Play: An Innovative Approach

To capture attention and maintain engagement, the training uses unconventional role plays:

• Prison escape scenarios

• End-of-the-world situations

• Unexpected role-playing exercises

This playful approach allows participants to:

• Demystify negotiation

• Create a relaxed learning environment

• Improve retention through lived experience

The 4 Key Steps of a Successful Negotiation

The method taught structures negotiation into four distinct yet complementary phases:

1. Empathy: Understand Before Acting

The first step is to build a connection with the other party:

• Understand their context

• Identify their constraints and motivations

• Adapt your communication accordingly

2. Courage: Dare to Ask and Stay Silent

This stage is crucial—and often the hardest for beginners. It involves:

• Clearly stating your request

• Remaining silent after your proposal

• Letting the other party react without filling the silence

Kevin highlights its importance: “Most negotiations end there because if you’ve done your context phase well and adapted your request to what you understood from the other party, you’ll make just the right ask.”

3. The Negotiation Itself

If needed, this phase is where positions are adjusted. However, with proper preparation, 80% of negotiations conclude before reaching this step.

4. Closing: Finalizing the Deal

The last step is to:

• Formalize agreements

• Ensure mutual understanding

• Define next steps

Changing Perspective: Negotiate as if You Have Nothing to Buy

One core principle taught is to reverse the traditional buyer-seller dynamic. Éric puts it clearly: “You have to negotiate as if you had nothing to buy. And when you speak with our salespeople, explain that in fact they have something to sell.”

This psychological approach:

• Rebalances the power dynamic

• Strengthens the negotiator’s position

• Creates a more favorable environment for concessions

Tangible Results: Autonomy in Action

Transformed Employees

The impact of the training is clear in field feedback. Kevin shares enthusiastically: “It’s always great when employees come to us saying: I applied these techniques, I made my request, and then I stayed silent.”

These testimonials show:

• Ownership of the techniques taught

• Increased confidence among participants

• Practical application in daily work

Autonomy That Benefits Everyone

The ultimate goal is to build an organization where every employee can negotiate without systematically relying on procurement. This autonomy generates:

• Greater reactivity in processes

• Better cost control across all levels

• Development of cross-functional skills

The Keys to Implementing This Approach

1. Make Training Accessible and Engaging

• Use interactive, playful formats

• Leverage concrete examples and role plays

• Adapt content to the company’s context

2. Draw Inspiration from Best Practices

• Study professional negotiators’ methods

• Adapt techniques to the business environment

• Create a structured yet flexible framework

3. Measure and Celebrate Success

• Track savings achieved

• Share success stories

• Build a positive negotiation culture

Conclusion: Toward a Shared Negotiation Culture

Swile’s experience shows that it’s possible to radically transform the corporate approach to negotiation. By making this skill accessible to all, using playful methods, and learning from the best, the company fosters a true culture of negotiation.

For finance and procurement professionals, this approach offers a unique opportunity: multiplying their impact by becoming facilitators rather than bottlenecks. By training and empowering teams, they can focus on strategic negotiations while knowing the entire organization contributes to cost optimization.

Ready to transform your approach to negotiation? Discover how Freqens can help you optimize procurement processes and train your teams. Contact us to explore ways to improve your supplier negotiations.