Negotiation Training and Consulting to Drive Sales Effectiveness at CareFirst

Partnered with leadership at CareFirst to design and deliver a large-scale negotiation training and sales effectiveness initiative reaching more than 800 attendees across Business Development, Sales, Sales Effectiveness, Mid-Market, Small Group, Public, Labor, National Accounts, Managers, and senior leaders. Developed a practical, enterprise-ready approach that strengthened commercial conversations, improved internal alignment, and equipped teams with tools to negotiate more strategically in a highly competitive market.

Highlights of the engagement included:

• Designed and delivered customized negotiation training for 800+ participants across multiple commercial segments and leadership levels

• Provided direct negotiation consulting on live renewals, growth pursuits, and strategic account opportunities
  Embedded the Medvec BATNA Analysis Tool into RFP/RFQ submission documents to improve coordination with Underwriting and strengthen pre-sale strategy discussions

• Integrated customer BATNA frameworks into sales planning processes to sharpen competitive positioning and negotiation readiness

• Embedded an Issue Matrix into account strategy documents to improve prioritization, planning, and deal execution

• Partnered with sales segment leaders to develop a standardized list of negotiable issues across customer types and market segments

• Helped define and codify key CareFirst differentiators for future integration into the sales process

Additional responsibilities included:

• Created a process to collect, track, and report on sales representative performance against targeted negotiation behaviors and tool adoption

• Identified internal sales “champions” who successfully applied the strategies and amplified their wins to create social proof and organizational momentum

• Supported long-term capability building through continued coaching, reinforcement planning, and participant selection for advanced table-team sessions

Consulting outcomes included:

• National Accounts renewal was won by shifting the conversation from price to value, aligning the team around client priorities, and applying a disciplined negotiation strategy

• Small Group / Mid-Market 51–299+ renewal was achieved by reframing the negotiation around CareFirst's unique advantages and positioning the organization as the strategic choice.

• Business Development implemented templates and “speaking first” positioning strategies to proactively shape customer perception, neutralize competitor messaging, and strengthen market position

• Mid-Market 51–299+, Public & Labor, and CareFirst Administrators prepared teams for upcoming negotiations through BATNA analysis, prior agreement review, and strategic readiness planning

• Leadership, Sales Effectiveness, and Business Development consulting helped the leadership teams adopt a more rigorous pursuit framework, prioritizing opportunities and focusing resources where CareFirst had the greatest leverage.