Commercial Contracts for Non-Lawyers
Practical Skills for Global Professionals
Gain practical skills to understand, draft, and manage commercial contracts with confidence no legal background required. Learn to navigate global standards, mitigate risks, and support business objectives across jurisdictions.
6th – 7th July 2026 Johannesburg, South Africa
Course Overview
Commercial contract negotiations are often challenging, not because the parties disagree on objectives, but due to underlying issues being unclear, unstructured, or poorly prioritised. This programme provides a structured, practical approach to preparing for and conducting contract negotiations with confidence.
Day 1 focuses on understanding contractual pain points, analysing issues, and preparing negotiation plans while Day 2 focuses on negotiation strategies, tools, and hands on practice.
Participants will learn how to break down contracts into negotiation issues, link these to clear negotiation strategies, and conduct discussions in a structured, commercially grounded way. This course is suitable for professionals involved in procurement, commercial, legal, business or project environments who want to develop strong, practical negotiation capability.
Key Learning Outcomes
Break down contracts into commercial, operational, legal, and risk issues.
Recognise typical pain points: scope, price, delivery, warranties, liability, indemnity, and termination.
Prepare for negotiation using a structured method, including BATNA, ZOPA, and walk-away points.
Apply core negotiation strategies like anchoring, framing, packaging, and sequencing.
Handle pressure, silence, escalation, and difficult counterpart behaviors confidently.
Why You Should Attend
Equip yourself with a structured approach to analyzing, preparing, and executing high-stakes commercial agreements.
Systematic Preparation
Prepare systematically for negotiations and identify contract issues that commonly create friction.
Cross-Functional Insights
Understand how commercial, operational, legal, and risk considerations interact within an agreement.
Issue Mapping
Use a structured approach to issue analysis, prioritisation, and building comprehensive negotiation briefs.
Live Simulations
Practise at least eight negotiation strategies confidently through multiple exercises and simulations.
Training Agenda
2-Day Onsite Face-to-Face Programme
- Scope of Work clarity and boundaries.
- Pricing, payment structures, and delivery timelines.
- Warranties, guarantees, indemnities, and risk allocation.
- Limitation of liability, insurance, and termination rights.
- Identifying commercial, operational, legal, and risk issues.
- Understanding issue interdependencies.
- Prioritisation techniques and the Issue Mapping Framework.
- Setting objectives and must-have positions.
- Determining walk-away points and sequencing issues.
- Designing concessions and preparing an internal brief.
- Understanding realistic alternatives and determining leverage.
- Establishing ZOPA boundaries and planning fallbacks.
- Setting initial positions: Soft vs firm anchors.
- Framing proposals to improve acceptance.
- Concession structure, timing, and mapping (Low-Cost/High-Value).
- Grouping issues to create movement and structuring trade-offs.
- Clarifying, probing, and understanding counterpart motivations.
- Handling evasive or incomplete responses.
- Handling delay, pressure tactics, silence, and escalation.
- Resetting the tone and keeping control under stress.
- Applying all skills: Issue Identification, Structured Preparation, Anchoring, Concessions, Packaging, Questioning, and Closing.
Who Should Attend?
This course is designed for professionals with no legal background who need to navigate, negotiate, and manage commercial terms confidently.
- Contract Managers & Procurement Professionals responsible for sourcing and supplier agreements.
- Commercial Executives & Business Leaders looking to mitigate risks and improve margins.
- Project Managers involved in managing scope, timelines, and contract discussions.
- Legal Counsel seeking to align legal strategies with commercial objectives.
Course Deliverables
Practical tools to standardize your approach to commercial agreements
- 🎓Certificate of Attendance
Recognized documentation of your commercial negotiation training.
- 🗺️Issue Mapping Frameworks
Templates for prioritizing commercial, legal, and operational risks.
- 📋Negotiation Brief Templates
Worksheets to establish BATNA, ZOPA, and walk-away points before meetings.
- 📚Comprehensive Material
Hard copies of all presentations, step-by-step guides, and simulation scenarios.
Investment & Registration
Event Code: CS-CCNL-020 | 6th – 7th July 2026 | Johannesburg, South Africa
Delegate 1
USD 1,295Book 1 delegate
Per delegate
Group
USD 995Book 2 to 4 delegates
Per delegate · Best Value
Corporate
USD 795Book 5 or more
Per delegate · All pricing excl. taxes
Enrollment Application
Payment is required within 5 working days of receiving the invoice. For 6+ delegates, contact us directly at training@corsol.net