Negotiation and Pitching Skills: A Case Study of Cuisine Coffee

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UNIT 44: PITCHING AND NEGOTIATION SKILLS
Perfect Pitch
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Executive Summary
The present assignment has chosen the company of Cuisine Coffee, and analyzed the necessity
of determining the negotiability of the company with its stakeholders. Implementation of the
strategies has been done effectively to achieve the aspired objectives. The pitching process is
determined which would play the key role for making the deal of the company with the affirmed
stakeholders. The pros and cons of the whole deal are ascertained beforehand so that no
loopholes are left behind before undertaking the project.
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Table of Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................5
1. Negotiation in the business context.............................................................................................5
2. Key steps required for negotiation...............................................................................................5
3. Context of negotiation and the importance of key individuals in a negotiation..........................6
4. Method to gain the best deals and contract..................................................................................7
5. Generation of new business and win deals..................................................................................8
6. Tendering for contracts................................................................................................................8
7. Preparing for negotiation through a request for proposal (RFP) form........................................9
8. Creation of a business proposal.................................................................................................11
9. Contractual process and agreements..........................................................................................11
Task 2.............................................................................................................................................13
2.1 Formal RFP for bank...............................................................................................................13
2.2 Response provided to RFP.......................................................................................................15
2.2.1 Evaluation of the pitch and negotiation process and reflect on own performance...............17
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................18
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................19
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Introduction
In business development process when negotiations take place, it must be noted that the
negotiated price of the product is based on few standards such as the market value or
replacement cost. Therefore, in negotiation, the negotiators must be specific and must have
reasons to support as to why the negotiation process is taking place (Groves et al., 2015). The
report discusses key process of negotiation and assessment of cracking deals and contracts. For
creation of brand image of Cuisine Coffee in the global market, it offers quality products and
services to its customers. The study involves preparation of RFP and its response in term of
business proposal of Cuisine Coffee by a bank for expanding its business in the global market.
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Task 1
1. Negotiation in the business context
Negotiation takes place between individuals who have shared interests that are actually opposed
and they try to communicate back and forth in order to reach an agreement. In the business
context, people try to settle the differences through negotiation (Ioanid, 2015). It must be noted
that negotiation here does not refer to argument or dispute between individuals. Rather it
involves a compromising nature and agreement on all behalf. For example, as a business start up
advisor if he/she plans to negotiate on prices of the product, then specific reasons for existing
price structures must be provided and price structures should be justified and then related
negotiation should take place. This will support the reason for negotiating and just the
negotiators position therein.
2. Key steps required for negotiation
Preparing for some triggers and focusing on some key areas are important deals if as a Business
start up advisor one wants to win a negotiation .Some of such conditions are briefly explained
below:
a) One must identify the scenario of communication. Negotiations will work only if the
person is in problem solving situation with other people that can work out at his/her
advantage.
b) Gathering information about the offers from the other side is very important to refine in
for one’s own way. Throughout negotiation, one must keep listening, clarifying and
checking on theses details as it helps to prepare for a negotiation to win.
c) It is also important to know the interests of both parties in order to negotiate efficiently
d) Another way to prepare for better negotiation is to find the best alternative to a negotiated
agreement also referred to as BATNA in order to identify few structures of the
negotiation beforehand (Seyff et al., 2015).
e) To prepare for negotiation, it is also important to lay stress on values rather than only
focusing over profits.
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The different steps in negotiating process – Primarily there are five steps in negotiating
process which are cited below:
i. Preparation and Planning – In a negotiation process, preparation and planning is the
first and foremost step where both the parties engaged in a negotiation process will
organize and simultaneously accumulate all the information that is necessary to verify its
claims.
ii. Ground Rules – The second step in negotiation process involves various rules and
regulations that are to be followed for a doubt free and planned negotiation.
iii. Clarification and Justification – The third step in a negotiating process involves a
discussion after the rules and regulations have been set. In this case, the parties at
negotiation get equal chance to make their points and actively justify their requests .It
further involves to address the varying interests and altogether make and manage
concessions (Frates and Bonnet, 2016).
iv. Concluding part – In this step, the negotiators are likely to reach a formal agreement and
finally a written draft is made where in the common interest and the ways to achieve
them mutually are summarised.
v. Execute – This step in the negotiation process involves the execution of the plans drafted
in the fourth process. It can also stage the process of preparation for the next negotiating
opportunity.
3. Context of negotiation and the importance of key individuals in a negotiation
f) In almost all the aspects of business, there is a heavy chance of negotiation. Negotiations
arise due to varied reasons. While the purpose of any negotiation is to ultimately reach an
agreement which shall have mutual benefits but before such settlement, a negotiator has
to go through a lot of efforts on both sides to reach a final conclusion (Simmons-Mackie
and Elman, 2015). It can be reflected can negotiations occur because there are individuals
who have similar interest and want to work together for benefitting themselves but the
problem arises when they have opposed thoughts regarding how to work and when to
work and other related issues from a business context side of view. In this case, the
parties try to negotiate on terms and conditions that are mutually acceptable to both the
parties without creating any further conflict of management. Negotiations also occur as a
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result of trying to create something new but when the parties involved are unable to do
the entire task on their own. So, they need the help of other parties and want them to
intrude in their part of work following some set rules and benefits that are mandatory for
all parties concerned (Rojot, 2016). Further, negotiation occurs in order to solve a dispute
that has aroused between the parties and for appropriate settlement, negotiation becomes
necessary.
g) In a negotiation process, the key stakeholders are the concerned individuals or parties
who are likely to be affected directly by the outcomes of any decision making process.
The stakeholders are often individuals who are selected by the business organization in
order to represent the organization in the negotiation process.
4. Method to gain the best deals and contract
When the negotiations arise, the ways to get the best deals are to set up the objectives of the
organization before making up any deal and also to evaluate the expectations on both sides along
with developing a strong and justifiable negotiation strategy with the help of an efficient
negotiating team who will present the aspects of the deal and generate new ideas to win the
argument in the proposed deal (Mirrokniand and Nazerzadeh, 2017). The methods that can be
employed to gain best contracts or deals are:
Setting of objectives
While making a contract, it is important to align the objectives of the organisation. It help in
predefining the factors and understanding of the desired outcomes from the contract. For
improving the profit percentage, the factors need to be evaluated and assessment. In case of
product negotiation, the firm needs to increase the prices, set the payment mode as well as
delivery method. This will help in understanding the end requirement in an appropriate manner.
Understanding the expectations
Flynn (2016) opined that expectations of organisation need to be assessed by the investors and
suppliers when dealing with them. This results in effective presentation of the deals to the people
outside the company.
Effective negotiation strategy
A negotiator is important that will appropriately create a negotiation strategy that will help in
gaining the deal or contract. This, in turn, help in enhancement of business of the organisation.
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As commented by Rajavel and Thangarathanam (2016), this strategy is useful in defining the
objectives and priorities. In case of small business and start-up business in UK, several deals
need to be reviewed and select the best possible one.
Development of negotiation team
A development of negotiation team helps in attaining the contract and effective representation of
the company in the target market. An entrepreneurial business is found to have no such team
thus; the owner needs to act as negotiators in cracking the available deals with its investors and
suppliers.
5. Generation of new business and win deals
Generation of new business and winning those deals is an important factor for the success of an
organisation. Thus, the most predominant factor in this case is resource planning. The effective
allocation of resources such as financial, human resources and other is critical for gaining
business deals in present and future. Olsen and Håkansson (2017) opined that this help in
offering a strong basis for the organisation support as well as meeting the requirements of
shareholders. For expanding the business, knowledge related to business in which it is operating,
market status and different aspects of products or services need to be assessed from time to time.
Effective communication among the members and putting a collaborative efforts help in
generation of new business and attaining the goals.
6. Tendering for contracts
According to Schilizzi and Latacz-Lohmann (2016), tendering is considered to be legal
procedures undertaken by a business in order to distributing products and services to other firms.
Thus, it is considered as an essential factor for conducting business and meeting the objectives.
Tenders are usually created as a form of contract after internal and external analysis of
microenvironment of the business. Following this, management takes a decision whether to bid
for it or not. The identification of needs of the tender and brainstorming of each factor need to be
done. After reviewing the terms and conditions of the firm, the decision will be made.
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7. Preparing for negotiation through a request for proposal (RFP) form
An RFP or Request for Proposal is a document that includes a list of all the needs and
requirement included with a project. Various companies need to develop an RFP in case of
upcoming projects which is a types of proposal developed for potential agencies and contractors
in order to gain finance for the project. After the proposal has been developed, the agencies and
contractors needs to bid for winning the contract as per the requirement of the project. Rajbhoj et
al., (2019) opined that RFP is a mutual beneficial process for the stakeholders that offer an
atmosphere of competition where they need to put in their best effort for attempting to win the
project over its competitors. The creation of RFP offers a range of bidders that are invited to
come and win over the opportunity. In case of vendors, it is a chance that allows having a
monitoring eye on the customers and description of project prior to signing of the contract. Frates
and Bonnet (2016) opined that it offers independence to vendors for ability to choose for whom
to work.
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Figure 1: Template for RFP
Source: (Rajbhoj et al., 2019)
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8. Creation of a business proposal
After the preparation of RFP, it can be seem that it needs to change the initial structure of an
organisation. The start-up needs to create a business proposal prior to commencement of its
business operation in the market. The factors that need to be considered are:
● The scope of the business is a critical factor that needs to be clearly presented. This will
help in understanding the issues faced by the current market and presentation of
innovation. This eventually, helps in establishing an appropriate business structure with
respect to business goals.
● The factors that contribute to the scope of the business need to be defined. This help in
effective allocation of resources such as time, finance, human resource and others. It
helps in the process of decision-making (Batocchio et al., 2017).
● The nature and structure of organisation will be included in a business proposal that will
clearly state the justification of chosen attributes and its impact on business operations
● Relevant information needs to be stated in case of entrepreneurial business as well as the
purpose of the entity. This include facts, data and information related to business
environment
● The proposal need to be created in such a manner that it would meet all the objectives
stated in the business plan
9. Contractual process and agreements
Contacts are defined as a written document, biding letter, memorandum, deeds, transfer, lease,
assignment, certificates, instrument and obligation. The provision of the document need to be
bound upon the organisation and signed by the concerned authority to execute the agreement on
behalf of the company.
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Figure 2: Contractual Process
Source: (Fehr et al., 2015)
The aim of a contract agreement is to ensure that the firm attains the desired outcome using the
process of negotiation. Shmaliy and Dushakova (2017) opined that the steps involves in this
process need to be conducted by verification of legal and business aspects and financial aspects
of the contract. The contractual process includes the following steps:
● Selection of contract
● Gathering information
● Choosing of a negotiators
● Reviewing of contract
● Signing
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