300+ Procurement Professionals Inside
Where Procurement Professionals Go From Being An Overlooked ‘Cost-Cutter’ To Valued Strategic Partner
Imagine getting invited into board meetings. Imagine people wanting your input on big decisions. Imagine waking up genuinely excited for work. That's what happens when you master your soft skills... and there's no better place to do it than in this community.
300+ Procurement Professionals • Live Workshops Every Week • Tools, Templates & More
The rate you join at is the rate you stay at... and you can cancel anytime!
"I recommend this to anyone in the procurement field who wants to elevate their career."
Tanner Stant
Procurement Manager at Vertice
Hi Tom – I finally had a second to click around… AMAZING. You are an absolute gift. Thank you!
Tom is a master of his craft. His positivity and expertise shine through, via practical tips and frameworks, that will help you influence and succeed.
This is a wonderful resource catalogue. Receiving your regular reminders to check the content is actually invaluable. Keep them up! Thank you!!
Hear from students who took the Procurement Soft Skills Mastery course (which has now been improved!)
“If I could do it all over again, I 100% would!”
Jo Morgan
Procurement Category Manager at QBE Europe
"This course will set you apart from other Procurement pros."
Jean-Marc Ducharme
Senior Director, Global Procurement & Supply Management at CAE
“I will be the first in line if Tom decides to bring out Procurement Soft Skills Mastery 2…”
Martin Bossley
Procurement and Supply Chain Lead at England Rugby
“Learning from a highly experienced professional was invaluable and accelerated my development.”
Sherley Priya
Senior Manager Marketing Procurement at Haleon
"My major takeaway was the value of having a structured framework for soft skills"
Albert Shamieh
Senior Manager, Product Technology Procurement at CAE
"Tom is a master of his craft. His positivity and expertise shines through"
Mark Corris
Director of Procurement & Travel at World Rugby
"I feel like the biggest takeaway is the community the course creates"
Emma Chang
Senior Strategic Buyer at Rolls-Royce
"Tom clearly knows his subject inside out and this brings direct and tangible benefits to businesses"
Tom King
Head of Cyber Security at Coventry Building Society
"Work is more enjoyable now. I manage stress more effectively."
Dean Adam
Procurement Manager at Nationwide Building Society
"Tom’s approach is both patient and insightful, creating an environment where concepts feel approachable and where everyone’s perspective is valued. "
Kimberley Duarte
Supply Chain Project Manager, Electra
"The knowledge I have gained from attending PSSM has definitely increased my confidence."
Natalie Phillips
Junior Category Manager at TUCO
"Procurement Soft Skills Mastery exceeded my expectations in every way."
Lubna Tawil
Procurement Specialist, Pepsi
If even one of these has happened to you... this was made for you
Stakeholders bypass you, agree the deal and then blame you for any delays.
It is the membership I built after retiring Procurement Soft Skills Mastery, the live programme that sold out every cohort I ran. The full archive is inside, along with live sessions every week, a growing vault of templates and tools, and 300+ peers who actually get it.
The course ended after ten weeks. This does not. It is where you keep applying the work with people who do your job, and where I keep building the next version of it in the open.
War & Peace gets dropped onto your desk at 10 to 5 and you're expected to sign it blindly.
Yes, and this is the part alumni tend to like most. Every module you sat through live is in there, re-cut into short lessons you can search, so you can go straight back to Week 6 the night before a negotiation instead of trying to remember it.
What is new is everything that happens after the ten weeks. Live sessions every week, guest experts, a vault that keeps growing, and 300+ peers you can put a real situation in front of on a Tuesday afternoon. The course ended. This does not.
You're concerned about the introduction of AI and whether it'll replace you.
The sales team get a huge pat on the back when they make a sale but when you save the company money... *crickets*
You spend ages doing quality research only for it to be ignored anyway.
Anytime you speak up or raise a valid question, you're met with collective sighs and defensiveness.
A tricky situation has come up with a stakeholder or supplier and you're not sure how to respond to it.
Work follows you home and you can't fully switch off with your friends, family or hobbies.
We both know you’re capable. You’re good with numbers. Your practical knowledge is impressive.
But your peers, managers, and stakeholders still can’t recognise your value. So your technical skills can’t be the problem here. Another CIPS qualification isn’t going to change that.
The real gap between you being treated like a corporate ‘cost-cutter’ or killjoy, and you being respected as the welcome voice in the room — is soft skills.
That is exactly what I built this community for, to develop your soft skills, influence and standing at work.
…along with 300+ professionals from junior-level to CPO, who actually ‘get’ what working in Procurement is like!
Tom Mills
Procurement Protagonist
Here’s what happens when you master your soft skills
I could tell you myself. It lands better in their words. These are the shifts members have written to me about after doing the work, unedited.
You stop feeling like an imposter
That flicker of doubt right before you speak in a room full of senior people. It goes.
“I used to worry that my over-enthusiasm meant I wasn’t taken seriously. Tom’s programme helped me find my authentic voice, stay positive, and still command respect. I now feel confident tackling tricky conversations with senior colleagues and far less like an imposter.”
Sally Smart
Procurement Manager
You stop dreading the hard conversation
You get a structure for the conversation you have been putting off since Tuesday.
“I wasn’t prepared for “game changing” course delivery, but that is what I got. The signature T.E.A.C.H framework was a lightbulb moment for me, and I have already put this into practice… This course will teach you so much in how to achieve better outcomes simply from adding structure to your engagement with stakeholders.”
Andy Holland
Head of Procurement, PA Media Group
You get the promotion
The step up stops feeling like something you have to bluff your way through.
“I was transitioning from Procurement Officer to Procurement Manager and was looking for practical advice on how to navigate this. The change in role was a big step up for me and Tom went above and beyond from the start to support me… From personalised interview prep to supplier negotiation tactics analysis, Tom introduced pragmatic frameworks that can be applied to multiple scenarios.”
Veronica Fatemi
Procurement Manager, Buckinghamshire New University
The job stops following you home
You stop carrying Friday’s conversation into Sunday evening.
“While technical skills are important in procurement, I’ve learned that soft skills are equally, if not more crucial in delivering the full procurement value proposition… This course has not only improved my ‘soft skills’ but has also made work more enjoyable and has helped me to manage stress more effectively.”
Dean Adam
Head of Category
Look at who is speaking. Sheldon had just started in procurement. Veronica had just stepped up to Manager. Andy had twenty years in, seven of them as a Head of Procurement. Pamela is a VP of Global Procurement. Same frameworks, different starting lines.
You start lifting your whole team
It stops being about you, and starts changing how your team operates.
“I am now prioritizing the development of my team’s soft skills, including their resilience and interpersonal abilities. I even added it as a crucial criterion while hiring new talent… Two-way feedback is now a non-negotiable part of all my one-on-one meetings, regardless of the team member’s seniority or position.”
Senior Manager, Global IT Procurement
Aerospace
That is the gap your qualifications never covered. CIPS taught you the process. Nobody taught you how to be heard in the room where the decision actually gets made. That is the whole reason I built this.
"I will be the first in line if Tom decides to bring out Procurement Soft Skills Mastery 2"
(Well, Martin… you’re in luck!)
Martin Bossley
Procurement and Supply Chain Lead at England Rugby
Here's what's inside
Procurement Unplugged: The Home of Procurement and Soft Skills Mastery 2.0
The complete Soft Skills Mastery curriculum, a live session every week, a vault that keeps growing, and 300+ people who actually understand the job.
Community of 300+ Peers, from Junior-level To CPOs
300+ professionals who get it, from first procurement job to sitting on the board. Real-time advice, and the questions you would never post on LinkedIn.
Live group coaching every week from Tom & guest experts
A live session every week with me or a guest expert. Bring the conversation you are dreading and we will take it apart together.
Binge the full Soft Skills Mastery 1.0 curriculum from day one
Every Soft Skills Mastery session, every template and every recording in one place. New content added every single week.
Get the whole system on day one. Then we build the next one together
Procurement Soft Skills Mastery sold out every cohort I ran, twelve seats at a time, before I retired it earlier this year. The full archive is yours the moment you join, on demand, in your own time. Then every month I take one skill from it and rebuild it live with the room. You are not watching the next version get made. You are in it.
Reading The Room
- The soft skills that quietly decide how you are seen
- Where your influence is won and lost before you even speak
Stakeholders & Suppliers
- Building the relationships that get you invited in early
- Running meetings, in person and online, that actually land
The Hard Conversations
- De-escalating a conversation that has already turned
- Building the resilience to stop the job following you home
Negotiation & Influence
- Preparing for a negotiation you cannot afford to lose
- Moving your role from reactive to genuinely strategic
Every workshop is recorded and indexed, so the archive keeps growing around you. Next on my list is AI in procurement: where it genuinely helps, where it quietly costs you trust, and the human skills that decide which of the two you get.
Career & Leadership
- Getting promoted, and getting paid what you are worth
- Winning respect as a leader, and developing your own team
Plus the three frameworks members quote back to me most: V.P.N. for preparing a negotiation you cannot afford to lose, T.E.A.C.H. for de-escalating a conversation that has already turned, and M.A.S.T. for managing the stakeholder nobody else can handle.
Ask anything. Get real answers.
Post the conversation you are dreading, the stakeholder who will not budge, the negotiation you cannot afford to lose. You will hear back from me and from 300+ people who do your job. Not a forum that went quiet in 2019.
Every one of these was asked and answered
Real questions from the community chat and the Ask Me Anything sessions. Post yours and you hear back from me, and from 300+ people who do your job.
- Measuring savings when there are none?ANSWERED
- Top tips for the first 90 days in a new role?ANSWERED
- What actually helps increase PO compliance?ANSWERED
- Anyone got experience of fractional working?ANSWERED
- How do I extend a contract while I retender?ANSWERED
This is where I build the next version, with you in the room
Every session is recorded and added to the vault, so the archive keeps growing around you. The moment you join you also get the full back catalogue of everything we have already done.
Ask Me Anything
Bring whatever you are stuck on and get a straight answer the same week. The supplier who has gone quiet, the stakeholder who keeps going around you, the conversation you have rehearsed four times and still not had.
Soft skills workshops
Each month I take one skill or one outcome and rebuild it live, properly, with the room. You bring the situation you are actually in, we work it through together, and you leave with something you can use on Monday. This is Soft Skills Mastery being made again, in the open, instead of being played back to you.
Guest experts
Practitioners sharing what actually works in their own patch. Celia Sgar recently walked members through her SGAR framework for supplier relationship management, built for teams who are already overloaded and need something simple enough to sustain.
…and new live sessions being held every single week!
Everything inside The Vault
The Resource Library, organised by topic, plus every email template I have written. New resources added every week.
RFPs
- RFP and RFI templates
- RFP Evaluation Matrix
- Vendor Risk Assessment Form
- Buying RACI Framework
- Supplier Discovery Call recording
Policies & Frameworks
- The Procurement Strategy
- Procurement Policy template
- Procurement Maturity Self Assessment
- Three Year Strategy and Category Plan decks
- Procurement plan on a page
Negotiations & Contracting
- Preparing for negotiations, the V.P.N. method
- Contract clauses and how to negotiate them
- Negotiations Worksheet
- Concessions and BATNA Planner
- Mutual NDA and Statement of Work
Personal Development
- How to impress at interview
- 100 most commonly asked interview questions
- Best practice procurement CV template
- The first 90 days slide deck
- Growing your reach on LinkedIn
…and much more, including Stakeholder Management templates and value reporting guidelines.
Email Templates
Every email I have written, for every awkward procurement conversation. Written personally, no AI. Cannot find the one you need? Request it and I will write it for you.
- RFPs: issuing the RFP, BAFO invitations, pausing a tender, telling a supplier they were unsuccessful
- Negotiations: “You need to sharpen your pencil”, monopoly supplier increases, requesting a full cost breakdown
- Stakeholder management: early engagement requests, pushing back on unrealistic timelines, decision accountability
- Interviews and personal development: salary conversation openers, promotion justifications, interview follow-ups
- Request an email template: tell me what you need and I write it for you
What the people who did it actually say
These are alumni of Procurement Soft Skills Mastery, in their own words, unedited. Every framework they mention is already inside the membership, and I am still building on it with them every month.
“Wherever you are in your career, I urge you to take Tom’s PSSM course – it’s the best course I’ve ever taken… The insights and skills I gained have had an immediate, positive impact on my work – as well as my own self-belief and confidence in my abilities.”
“Whether you are an experienced procurement professional or just beginning in the world procurement, this course will set you apart from other procurement pros… the key to your success is not what you know, nor the qualifications you have or years of experience; it is how you interact with people.”
“I noticed a transformative shift in mindset, not only in myself, but across the entire group. We moved from feeling discouraged by the challenges we face in our roles to embracing the positive intent behind every interaction. We learned how to build personal resilience.”
“I feel the biggest takeaway of this course is the community it creates with Tom and the other members which will be a benefit and support long after you finish the workshops.”
“Procurement Soft Skills Mastery exceeded my expectations in every way. It aims to shift your mindset in a very mature, open, and confident way in order to level up in your procurement career… I gained practical tools I can apply immediately.”
“It significantly boosted my confidence in contributing proactively and strategically in Procurement. It enhanced my skills in stakeholder management, feedback loops, negotiation and awareness on emotional intelligence in Procurement.”
“Tom’s unique approach is to remove procurement theory and hones in on the unique attributes of Soft Skills which helps set you apart within the procurement profession… I will be the first in line if Tom decides to bring out Procurement Soft Skills Mastery 2.”
“The course reinforced how critical these soft skills are, especially alongside the rise of AI, while providing practical frameworks I can apply immediately… I would recommend both PSSM and Tom’s procurement community to anyone in procurement, sourcing, or supplier management.”
“My major takeaway was the value of having a structured framework for soft skills.”
Hi, I'm Tom Mills
Maybe you know me from LinkedIn, maybe it’s my Procure Bites newsletters you love to read, or perhaps you’ve found me from YouTube. Twenty years in procurement, a network of 100,000+ professionals, and 17,000+ people reading the newsletter every week.
A few years ago I built Procurement Soft Skills Mastery. It ran live, twelve seats at a time, and it sold out every single cohort I opened. I retired it earlier this year, and not because it stopped working. Twelve people at a time was never going to shift the profession, and ten weeks was never long enough to make new habits stick.
So I stopped running a course and built a room instead. The full archive is in there waiting for you, and every month we take one piece of it and go deeper, together. This feels like the full circle moment for me, and I’m looking forward to welcoming you.
ADDED BONUS
(£250 Value)
Join Today & Claim Your free 1:1 session with me
For a limited time only, you’ll be able to book a 1:1 call with me when you join the community. You can use your 30-minutes to get settled into the community, share your story, and ask me anything Procurement-related.
NOTE: this bonus offer is available for a limited time only.
I will reach out with an invitation to book a call.
Pricing
You instantly gain access to:
- The complete Soft Skills Mastery curriculum, all 10 modules, that sold out every live cohort
- Weekly live sessions: masterclasses, guest expert sessions and Ask Me Anything
- Full community forum (300+ members, from juniors to CPOs)
- The complete Procurement Vault: templates, emails & career guides
- The employer expense email that got 50%+ of my students reimbursed
- New content added every week
- BONUS (limited time only): 30min 1:1 call with me (worth £250)
Additional benefits:
- Your price is locked in for as long as you stay
- Receipt & invoice for CPD / expenses
Join Procurement
Unplugged Today
£225 per quarter (or £500 per year)
£500 per year (or £225 per quarter)
£500 billed yearly, or £225 per quarter.
That’s under £2 a working day on the annual plan. I put the rate up as the room grows, but never for anyone already inside.
If you aren’t 100% satisfied with the membership in the first 30 days, you get your money back.
Real feedback from members and alumni:
“Tom is a master of his craft. His positivity and expertise shine through, via practical tips and frameworks, that will help you influence and succeed.”
Mark Corris, Director of Procurement, World of Rugby
Your price is locked for as long as you stay. Cancel any time, in two clicks.
Worried about the cost?
Over half of my PSSM students had their place paid for by their employer, using an email I had already written for them. That same template is waiting for you inside, ready to send.
Soft skills work at every level. So who is this actually for?
This is perfect for you if…
- You save the business a fortune and still get treated like a cost-cutter
- You want to be in the room when the big decisions get made, not called in at the end to check the budget
- You are technically strong, but influence, pushback and difficult conversations are where it falls apart
- You are early in your career and want the promotion, and the pay rise, that comes with being taken seriously
- You are a Head of Procurement or CPO who needs executive presence, and a team you can develop the same way
- You want frameworks built by someone who has actually done the job, not theory from a qualification
This is NOT for you if…
- You have no interest or passion for procurement
- You already think you know it all and there’s nothing more you can learn
- You don’t believe in soft skills to be better at procurement (you’re only here for the technical)
- You’re not interested in sharing or helping others in the community
FAQs
What exactly is Procurement Unplugged?
It is the membership I built after retiring Procurement Soft Skills Mastery, the live programme that sold out every cohort I ran. The full archive is inside, along with live sessions every week, a growing vault of templates and tools, and 300+ peers who actually get it.
The course ended after ten weeks. This does not. It is where you keep applying the work with people who do your job, and where I keep building the next version of it in the open.
I already did PSSM. Is there anything new for me?
Yes, and this is the part alumni tend to like most. Every module you sat through live is in there, re-cut into short lessons you can search, so you can go straight back to Week 6 the night before a negotiation instead of trying to remember it.
What is new is everything that happens after the ten weeks. Live sessions every week, guest experts, a vault that keeps growing, and 300+ peers you can put a real situation in front of on a Tuesday afternoon. The course ended. This does not.
What are the live sessions each week?
There’s a minimum of one ‘live’ session every Tuesday at 4PM BST, with it either being a:
- Live Masterclass: real frameworks for the problems sitting on your desk right now.
- Live Ask Me Anything: bring your actual challenges and I answer them live.
- Guest Expert Session: a procurement professional sharing what’s working for them. All sessions are recorded and available from day one, so you’re never behind if you miss one.
What if I can’t always make it live?
Not a problem. Recordings go up within minutes of each session ending. For the AMA, you can submit questions in advance. You also get access to every session recorded before you joined — so even if you join on month 12, you have everything from month one waiting for you.
Who is this for?
Procurement professionals at any level. PSSM had everyone from junior buyers through to CPOs, and so does this. Current job titles inside: Senior Buyer, Procurement Manager, Category Manager, Head of Procurement, CPO, Supply Chain Lead, Contract Manager, Procurement Consultant.
If you are early in your career, the outcome is the promotion and the pay rise that come with finally being taken seriously. If you are senior, it is executive presence, and a way to develop your own team using the same frameworks.
What’s in the Procurement Vault?
RFP templates, category strategy frameworks, supplier evaluation tools, a full email library, career guides, promotion frameworks, and video tutorials — all built from 20+ years in the profession. I add new content every week.
How much does it cost?
£225/quarter or £500/year (that saves you £400!). Once you’re in, your price is locked for as long as you stay. Cancel any time — no lock-ins, no notice periods, no awkward conversation. Your employer can also sponsor this as CPD and you’ll receive an invoice automatically.
What’s the retention like?
Retention has been exceptional. Once you’re in a room of 300+ people who finally get it, you don’t want to leave. The community speaks for itself.
Can my employer pay for this?
Yes — many members have this fully funded as CPD or professional development. You’ll receive an automatic receipt and invoice on signup that you can submit for expenses. If your employer needs more information to approve it, get in touch and I’ll help.
"Filled with the templates and pro tips you’ve come to expect from Tom Mills, plus the community, laughter and insights of an intimate global peer network. Just sign up, you won’t regret it."
Monica Roultson
Procurement Director at Animal Agriculture
Join the #1 community for anyone in Procurement, from junior-level to the CPO
Stop second-guessing your value in procurement. Get support to excel in your procurement career every week, with 300+ people who actually understand your job… in your corner.
Cancel any time · £225/quarter or £500/year.
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