Testimonials
Find out what Derek’s clients have to say
Derek has been working with me for the last 3 years on a 1:1 basis as coach and mentor. As head of a secondary school it can be very tempting to move away from vision and strategy towards more operational activity. In order for pupils to achieve their potential, leadership teams in schools need to be focussed on the future. During our conversations Derek has,through business models and introducing examples of private sector business strategy , enabled me to focus beyond education. This in turn has enabled my teams to see practice within the business world which has an impact on the future lives of young people. In an ever more challenging and competitive market in education, looking beyond the obvious is vital for success. Mrs Sue Bullen – Headteacher – Woolmer Hill School, Haslemere, Surrey
“Derek is wholly unique in his ability to speak about and put across his vast expertise in negotiation in a delightful, entertaining, highly informative and engaging manner. His Masterclasses on the subject are legendary and equip each and every one of his delegates with negotiation tools they will never forget.” Roger Harrop - The CEO Exert
After attending Derek’s Masterclass one of my clients saved £175,000 on just one deal. Derek’s style ensures that people can quickly adjust their own style to maximize their results” Mike Ogilvie – Managing Partner OBC Accountants
I attended the feedback session at the last module of the NHS North East Developing Talent Programme for aspiring Finance Directors last week and the feedback was fantastic. They loved your session and found it incredibly useful. Many thanks again for your valuable contribution and in making the programmes very successful and well respected. 25th February 2010
Alison Myles – Learning and Development Director Healthcare Financial Management Association
Justin Urquart-Stewart – TV adviser, presenter and Investement GURU on Derek——————————–
Dear Derek – just a quick note to thank you for the talk you gave last night. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the feedback was fantastic.
Thanks again,
Jordan Poulton – President Oxford University Entrepreneurs
Derek Williams – CEO of the WOW awards for Customer service and excellence on Derek
Derek did a number of days work with us recently with the goal of enhancing the performance of key personnel in certain areas, where they needed development. He ran a diagnostic workshop that we all attended. Several smaller, focused workshops and 1-1 coaching with my people where I wanted increased performance. It all went really well and my staff are very pleased with the results. I would have no hesitation whatsoever in saying “Use Derek”
Michael Elimer, Managing Director, Blazepoint Limited. September 2009
“Thank you for volunteering to help Oxfam with their bank charge negotiations. Saving us over £210k was a fantastic achievement.”
John Shaw Finance Director March 2009
“I have worked with Derek in a number of businesses; he is able to combine the art of training and development with common sense based on years of experience and a real “down to earth” approach. He works well with small groups and in full scale conference presentations.”
Steve Pateman, MD Abbey Santander, Commercial Banking, London
“Thank you for travelling to Sheffield for our event. You held 100 people in concentrated attention all morning. You were inspiring, energetic, captivating and motivational. It takes a very talented speaker to stand in front of the Business Women of Sheffield and receive such positive feedback afterwards.”
Kate Stephenson, Sheffield Chamber of Commerce
At the 2008 Australian Professional Speakers Conference in Melbourne in Derek was described as one of the “World’s leading speakers, advisers and coaches on the art and science of negotiating”.
Alan Stevens, President of the Professional Speakers Association of Great Britain, says, “Derek is the best practitioner, mentor and speaker on Negotiation in the world”. Who knows if Alan is right — however, he has seen more than 1250 speakers in the world in 2008 in his capacity as President.
November 2008 — As part of Derek’s voluntary work, he helps Oxfam negotiate a saving of £201,950 on their banking charges. Finance Director, John Shaw, says, “Thank you, Derek, for bringing your unique win-win Negotiating style to help Oxfam.”
David Jones CBE- Chairman of Next PLC says, “Derek Arden has studied the art and science of Negotiation at the highest level. As a presenter, trainer and coach he has modelled himself on the best in the world.”
As a Director of an International Bank’s Corporate Banking Division, he negotiated many complex transactions; the largest was the financing of a £3bn takeover.
October 2008 — Derek teaches 120 Women to negotiate in Sheffield. All unanimously agreed that there is a fundamental difference in the way that men and women negotiate. Kate Stephenson Director of Event co-ordination at Sheffield Chamber of Commerce said, “This seminar was fantastic, it resulted in many asking if we would do another seminar with Derek, and we are early in 2009.”
“Your presentation at the ACE seminar last night in the Stormont Hotel was fantastic! I am a Graduate Electrical Engineer and feel that your philosophy on negotiation tactics will greatly influence how I negotiate and interact with clients/contractors/people throughout my job, and ultimately how I develop throughout my professional career. You are an inspirational speaker.”
Ciaran Stevenson
“Thanks very much for galvanising my guys over in York yesterday — this was a really useful session for me to join in, as all 40 delegates were from the North East region. As you witnessed, my own sales and relationship skills need more work(!) — but you have to get stuck in, don’t you. On a serious note,the work you did on negotiating around margin and fee was cutting edge stuff — pricing is a key challenge for me in UKBB and it’s great to see that your coaching supports our current needs and development areas amongst our Development RMs.”
Mark Winters, Regional Director, North East Region UK Business Banking –
“Having seen Derek’s presentation, it is safe to say that he is the British answer to Anthony Robbins.”
Alex Eyquem, Chairman of the Association For Consultants and Engineers Progress Network –
STREET SAVVY DELEGATE: “Tangibly I estimate the increase in income for me in the past month has been in the region of £5,000 from increased fees and rates. One particular case earned a increase of £1,500 simply by the ’sharp intake of breath’ and adding value on to the deal that I was putting together (I would not have got this beforehand). This is increasing as I am more and more tenacious.
“I find that reading through the notes every morning before I start my day helps me to remember the main messages that I picked up from the day. I have to say that the day was a lot different to any other ‘training’ day that I have been on in my 30 years in this organisation. This was I feel entirely down to the passion that the course was delivered with.”
Alan Ewen –
“A seminar delegate saved £75,000 the next day by implementing just one of Derek’s recommendations.”
Mike Ogilvie, Conference Director, South East Regional Entrepreneurs Conference –
“Thank you, thank you for such a brilliant presentation — the feedback from everyone was ACE.”
Peter Thomson, Author, ‘Achievers Edge’ — world’s leading monthly audio magazine