Negotiate Claims Successfully – Cooperation Instead of Confrontation
The PRO® concept: a holistic method from securing entitlements to reaching agreement. In addition to safeguarding claims, it takes into account negotiation techniques and negotiation psychology through the phase model of claims negotiation.
The PRO:CLAIM® Concept Is the Solution for Difficult Commercial Negotiations
Commercial conflicts are part of project business. Changes, disruptions, delays and additional work have a direct impact on costs, schedules and contractual content. The decisive question is therefore not only whether an entitlement exists, but whether it is identified in time, properly documented, convincingly substantiated and professionally negotiated.
With the PRO:CLAIM® in-house training offered by the Contract Academy, you qualify your project teams to systematically prepare claims and change orders, develop enforceable entitlement bases and conduct negotiations in a structured manner — with the aim of safeguarding commercial interests, reducing escalation and maintaining a workable business relationship with the contractual partner.
Why the PRO:CLAIM®-Concept
Claims negotiations differ fundamentally from traditional procurement or sales negotiations. The parties are already in a contractual relationship. The project is still ongoing. Both sides must continue working together despite the conflict. At the same time, there is often significant pressure to reach agreement, because unresolved claims can place a burden on schedules, cash flow, project results and the business relationship.
The PRO® concept addresses precisely this situation. It combines formal claim protection with a structured negotiation logic and proven negotiation techniques. This creates a systematic path from the first deviation in the project to a robust and sustainable agreement.
The Objective
Do not leave claims to chance, escalation or pure negotiating power. Manage them with method, evidence, strategy and professional communication.
What Your Teams Will Be Able to Do Better After the Training
After the in-house training on the PRO:CLAIM® concept, your employees will be able to conduct commercial negotiations with contractual partners in a much more structured, confident and results-oriented way.
They learn how to prepare claims and change orders professionally, build a robust negotiation position and guide discussions purposefully through defined negotiation phases. The focus is not on escalation, but on the factual and methodical management of commercial conflicts — with a clear view of the project result, entitlement basis, valuation logic and business relationship.
Participants develop a better understanding of negotiation strategy, role allocation, negotiation techniques and negotiation psychology. They recognize typical resistance, handle objections with greater confidence and maintain control over the structure and direction of the negotiation even in difficult discussion situations.
The objective is a sustainable agreement that safeguards commercial interests and is perceived by the parties involved as fair, transparent and appropriate — so that projects remain manageable despite commercial conflicts and the necessary cooperation with the contractual partner is not placed under unnecessary strain.
The Phase Model According to the PRO:CLaim®-Concept
A key component of the PRO® concept is the structured approach using clearly defined negotiation phases. This prevents topics from being mixed, positions from becoming entrenched or negotiations from being reduced too early to mere price concessions.
Participants learn how to conduct claims negotiations step by step: from the start of the negotiation, information alignment and clarification of the entitlement basis through to valuation, convergence, solution development, concessions and agreement.
Topics covered include:
- Negotiation start and agenda
- Information alignment
- Entitlement basis
- Valuation basis
- Convergence phase
- Solution phase
- Concession phase
- Agreement and documentation
Who Is the In-House Training Designed For?
The PRO:CLAIM® in-house training is designed for companies that execute projects involving complex contracts, technical interfaces, change risks and commercial conflicts.
The training is particularly suitable for:
- Project managers and sub-project managers
- Contract managers
- Claim managers
- Commercial managers
- Site managers and commissioning managers
- Procurement and supply chain management
- Sales and bid management
- Legal counsel and contract lawyers
- Executives with project responsibility
The training can be delivered for mixed teams in order to create a shared understanding between engineering, project management, commercial management and legal functions.
Your Benefits as a Company
Professional claim competence has a direct impact on the project result. Companies that identify claims early, document them properly and negotiate them in a structured manner reduce commercial risks and improve their position in commercial conflicts.
The in-house training supports your company in:
- enforcing justified claims more effectively
- professionally defending against unjustified claims
- documenting additional costs and schedule impacts more effectively
- standardizing claim and change order processes
- clarifying internal roles and responsibilities
- conducting negotiations in a more factual and structured way
- avoiding escalation and lengthy disputes
- maintaining reliable cooperation during ongoing projects
The PRO:CLAIM®-Concept as a Competitive Advantage in Project Business
In many companies, significant losses in project results are not caused by a lack of technical competence, but by insufficient commercial management of changes, disruptions and claims. This is exactly where the PRO:CLAIM®-concept comes in.
The training creates a shared methodological foundation for all employees involved in identifying, evaluating, documenting and negotiating claims. This turns claim management from a reactive crisis tool into a professional component of project control.
Strengthen the claim competence of your project teams and establish a consistent approach to commercial conflicts in project business.
We will be pleased to develop a suitable in-house format for your organization together with you — from a compact workshop to a multi-level Corporate Program.
