Analysis of Pitching and Negotiation Skills at Marks & Spencer

This report delves into the critical aspects of pitching and negotiation skills within a business context, using Marks and Spencer (M&S) as a case study. It covers negotiation processes, stakeholder involvement, and the importance of effective communication in conflict resolution. The report explores the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, detailing required documents and the consequences of breaching agreements. It examines contractual processes, data management, and monitoring. Furthermore, the report analyzes pitching strategies, principles for achieving competitive advantage, and post-pitch obligations, including risk management strategies. Solutions are presented for dealing with negotiation issues, developing dynamic and creative pitches, and evaluating outcomes to mitigate potential risks, offering valuable insights into business development and stakeholder management.

Pitching and negotiation skills

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Main body...................................................................................................................................1
LO1.............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Negotiation and its occurrence with key stakeholders of its commence...............................1
P2 Key steps of negotiation and information for generation of deals.........................................2
M1 rationale on the steps and information involved in negotiation process...............................2
D1 Steps of negotiation process and present valid solution for dealing the issues.....................3
LO2.............................................................................................................................................3
P3 Explain RFP process and relevant type of documents required............................................3
P4 Explain contractual process and how relevant data are been managed and monitored.........4
M2 Application of RFP process at M & S and consequence of breaching the agreement.........5
D2 evaluate competitive tendering and contract process and give recommendation to
minimise the risk.........................................................................................................................6
LO3.............................................................................................................................................6
P5 Develop a pitch to applying key principles to achieve a better competitive advantage........6
M3 Examination of pitching process in M & S and getting idea about maximum chances of
success.........................................................................................................................................7
D3 Developing of a pitch both dynamic and creative pitch, concise and persuasive in nature to
have a good competitive advantage............................................................................................7
LO4 ............................................................................................................................................8
P6 Potential outcome of pitch.....................................................................................................8
P7 Determine how organization fulfil its obligations from the pitch and discuss various issues
that are been discussed? .............................................................................................................8
M4 Recommendation for M & S for meeting their Post pitch obligation highlighting a
potential issue..............................................................................................................................9
D4 evaluate pitch and post pitch outcomes to determine potential issue and risk management.
.....................................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
The pitching and negotiation process is very important in an organisation. The pitching
refers to tone of voice and communication manner while negotiation is a method of accepting or
denial of opinions expressed by others. A good pitching and negotiation process helps in
maintaining communication standards and supports better rectification of conflicts and issues
that occurs at a work place (Yeni, and ImroatusSolikhah, 2017). For this report, Marks and
Spencer (M&S) is taken as organisation of context. It is a UK based retail firm. The report will
lay emphasis on negotiation, its occurrence and key stack holder factors for better handling of
business operations. A rationale on negotiation process and its various steps have been discussed
along with the information. In addition, various solution are been used to deal a risk in
negotiation process. Other than this, RFP process has been used with details of documents
required to handle it and consequence of breaching an agreement is been presented with pitching
process of M & S to make it successful. Apart from this, post pitch obligations and risk
management strategy is been presented (Waterhouse, Keast and Koppenjan, 2016).
Main body
LO1
P1 Negotiation and its occurrence with key stakeholders of its commence.
A negotiation is effective process that is been practised in an organisation like M&S to
effectively carry out communication process that will help in better handling of conflicts and
differences that are been followed to rectify a conflict or differences that are been occurred at
structural and management level in an organisation (Shaw, 2014). The negotiation will help in
removal of differences that can affect productivity and revenue generation of cited retail firm.
This will help in getting the suitable outcome to conflict and help the firm to gain better fairness
and equality in an enterprise. A negotiation process may occur due to various reasons like
disagreement to a rule or policy personal differences, variableness in position etc.
The stakeholders play a very deep and important role in handling negotiation process.
They form a very important part in functionality of an organisation; firm has to look after the
better management of conflicts and negotiation process that will impact the growth and
development of a business operation. The retail organisation has to see through better
management of its cause so that relationships with stakeholders are been maintained to execute
functions of an enterprise in a better way (Stevens And et,al., 2016).

P2 Key steps of negotiation and information for generation of deals
Various steps have been taken under consideration to carry out a negotiation process and
generation of deals such as:
 Preparation and planning: it is first step of negotiation process, where both parties'
comer together to gain a suitable information necessary for it. The information may
include a plan, background of conflict or cause of difference and other documents that are
associated with cause of discussion (Yeni, and ImroatusSolikhah, 2017).
 Defining the rules to exchange information: Certain rules are been set that are been
required to be followed in a negotiation process. The information gathered in above step
would be delivered in this method, for assessment process. It involves better handling of
trust level, competency likeability and engaging the interest of the employees or
concerning parties in a negotiation.
 Bargaining: In this interaction process, problems are discussed. Sharing of information
helps in building a good relationship and proceeds to better output in a conflict. This is
mostly done by face-to-face communications that helps in better value creation and have
a good solution to a problem.
 Conclusion: This is the process where both parties will reach to a conclusion or
agreement that is acceptable to them (Shaw, 2014). The common interests have been
taken in thought process and then a negotiation plan has been drawn to ensure better
commitment. If one party is not willing to reach on a point of negotiation, agreement is
not been fulfilled.
 Execution: it is implementation of drawn agreement or conclusion that will help in
generating opportunity of negotiation process. Beside this, it will help in prevention of
conflicts and carry out a good negotiation process in the future.
M1 rationale on the steps and information involved in negotiation process
Various steps that have been followed in a firm for a negotiation process involves
operations like collection of different information like plans, agreements and backgrounds of
process that has been followed by a business organisation. The effective assessment of different
operation helps in better rise in mutual understanding and gaining of different operations that
will look after the effective management of negotiation process at M & S (Saarni, 2015). A good
negotiation will help in better rise in the utilization of the available resources and resources that

will help in effective management of the operations that are been taken in consideration of the
organisation that will support a good rise in communication, mutual understanding and improve
the interpersonal relationship within the organisation (Moore, 2017).
D1 Steps of negotiation process and present valid solution for dealing the issues.
The different steps that are been followed in a negotiation process like preparation and
planning, bargaining, executing etc helps in gaining a better handling of business operations that
help in better growth and development of operations in a better way. This process will help in
dealing with different sort of conflicts that occurs while working in a retail organisation like M &
S. This approach help in suitable handling of actions that supports the growth of mutual
understanding and trust level among the management of cited firm. Some solutions that are been
followed by the organisation for better handling of conflict is as follows:
 Developing a good communication process in organisation (Price, 2015).
 Promoting a good governance and control over the different operations that are been
taken in consideration by organisation.
 Documenting discussions and output gained for future reference.
 Implementing effective negotiation planning and handling of discussion functions that are
been followed by retail organisation.
Thus, the effective implementation of these issues will help in better rise in customer
satisfaction level that will support a good rise in the effectiveness of M & S that will help in
proper management of trade activities and generate a good profit by the firm.
LO2
P3 Explain RFP process and relevant type of documents required.
The request for proposal or RFP process is the action plan that has been taken in thought
process by firm, that will support better management of its business operations that will help in
suitable rise in bidding process that help in building good relationship with stake holders or
business clients of M & S (Alexander, Howieson and Fox, 2015). This process is used to make
the business proposals that help in better management of different business operation that are
been practised in retail firm. It helps the organisation to promote and provide details of
procurement or commodity that is been manufactured by cited retail entity. It is primarily used
for vendor management process. The RFP process will help in effective handling of wide

operation that will help in suitable rise in functionality that includes the suitable rise in
effectiveness of a RFP process (Page and Mukherjee, 2014).
The relevant type of documentation that are been taken in the retail organisation consist
of following documents that are been placed and provided by trade entity. Some documents that
are been followed are:
 List of vendors: it will include the brief details of the vendors and their commodities
that will support the better handling of business operations and gain a purchasing party
(Alexander, Howieson and Fox, 2015).
 Letter of acknowledgement: all the vendor companies that will be receiving the RFP
will have this letter as the mark of biding process and contact system with firm.
 Contract details: this will involve the details related to business agreement or contract
between two trade entities.
 Proposal: This will be the most crucial document and will be well considered by the
organisation. It will involve breakdown of bid price, any extra detail related to financial
resource schedules, and details of key suppliers.
Other than this, it will include the details of the financial statement of company, it annual
financial report (AFR), notice, legal obligations, clarification and agreement to enter in a bid or
agreement process that will help in better management of the business operations that is been
taken in consideration by M & S. Apart from this the financial and technical requirements that
are needed to be taken in consideration by the cited firm to execute the agreement process and
will support the better growth and development of retail firm (Moore, 2017). The RFP process
help in developing a good understanding of product and commodities among the customer and
buyers and thus, facilitates an effective transaction process to gain a good profitability by the
firm, even before the purchase is been made.
P4 Explain contractual process and how relevant data are been managed and monitored.
A contract is the mutual agreement that is been done between two parties to carry out the
trade in an effective and better way. It involves various legal obligations, terms and condition,
agreements and memorandum (Borawski And et,al., 2015). This ensure the better execution of
business operations. The contractual process that is been followed by the organisation will
involve the better handling of different operations that will help in the better development of
contract by an organisation that will help the firm to have a better handling of operations in a

better and effective way. The better development of a contract process will involve the following
processes that will be taken in consideration by the business organisation. The steps of
conceptual process is as follows:
 Selecting a contract: the selection of the better contract will help in meeting the needs
and demand of their clients in a better way. The proper proposal and forms or agreements
are been developed. Beside this, it will also include the proper reviewing and approval of
the different form of contracts that are been offered by the cited retail firm (Lin , Kraus,
and Mazliah, 2014).
 Collection of information: This approach included the assessment of proper measures
that are to be managed and handled by the retail firm. The information is been gained
through different documentations that are been analysed to get idea about requirements
and possession of the company. The documentation that are been taken in consideration
are budgets, payments, financial statements, scope of work, written version of contract
with other attachment and other supporting documents.
 Choosing a negotiator: The negotiator will be the person who will be chosen by both the
firms and will be performing the analysis of the agreement of contract document so that it
fulfils the requirements of both the concerning parties. He will be looking the proper
assessment process to gain a better idea about procurement and other details that will be
provided by the firm, for better handling of operations (Khadhraoui and et.al., 2017).
 Contract review process: The negotiator that is been finalized by the organisation will
help in better handling of the different operations by analysing the contract and making
the necessary alterations in it. That will help both the enterprise entering in contract to get
more benefits from it in a better way. This is performed for better risk management
purpose and other details involving technical and system requirement in a better way.
 Contract signing: Once the contract is been thoroughly examined by the negotiator, it is
been further sent to both the concerning parties that will be giving it a final reading ad
then the contract is been signed as the mark of acceptance of all the terms and conditions
that are been set and discussed in a contract (Curhan, 2017).

The documents that are been taken in consideration are effectively monitored by the
negotiator and advisor that are been appointed by both the concerning firms. Besides this, these
documents are been stored safely for assessment in the future.
M2 Application of RFP process at M & S and consequence of breaching the agreement
At M & S, the RFP process will help in better handling of different business processes by
development of a good and effective contract that will help in meeting the requirements of its
clients and vendors. The effective development of RFP at cited retail firm will help in better
handling of operations and gaining a good control over the financial and other actions (Kennedy,
2017). The development of list of vendors and detailing the bid prices will support better growth
of company. Other than this, the agreement will help in increasing it efficiency. However, the
breaking of agreement of breaching its terms will lay an adverse impact on organisation. This
can lead the firm to fall in legal case and alter the brand image of firm, reducing it revenue
generation. Thus, the RFP processing within the organisation will help in better rise in
effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation, improving its biding power, and growth and
development of the organisation (Groves, Feyerherm and Gu, 2015).
D2 evaluate competitive tendering and contract process and give recommendation to minimise
the risk.
The approach of competitive tendering and contract process will help M & S to manage
its trade relations in a more effective and better way. The firm would try to give out the better
and cost effective tender to it vendor or suppliers, that will help the firm to have a better and
financially viable documentation of its proposal. Other than this the better handling of contract
process will help in developing of mutual understanding between the vendors and cited retail
firm. Some recommendation that are mean to be followed by the firm are:
 Following of all legal obligations described in the contract or agreement to avoid any sort
of legal risk (Hochhauser, Weiss, and Gal, 2015).
 Mentioning all the details of bidding and commodities in a detailed and in a very
explainable manner to avoid any conflict or confusion.
 The agreement should be well read before signing or accepting the terms.
Thus, it will help in better development of the cited retail enterprise, helping it to get
effective orders from the clients and stake holders and perform in a very efficient manner to meet
the effectiveness of the organisation.

LO3
P5 Develop a pitch to applying key principles to achieve a better competitive advantage.
A pitch is the effective planning or process that is been followed to gain a good control
on operations. A pitching id the carrying out of effective communication that will help in better
management of operations related to negotiation process of M & S. a good and effective pitch
that is been applied in cited retail firm will help it to gain a good control on operations and make
the company to have a better competitive growth over it rivals. It involves:
 Maintaining openness and transparency: This approach will support the development
of better trust level of customers towards the cited firm. It will help in better meeting of
operational requirements of its customer's and stake holder and providing with necessary
details about the firm and its actions (Heydari, Momtaz and Danai, 2015).
 Maintaining the respect: the management of M & S will see through it that it provide
effective respect to its stake holders involving customers, client and suppliers to gain a
better trust and develop mutual understanding (Heydari, Momtaz and Danai, 2015).
 Collective actions: this will involve the proper convincing of the collaborative action
that are been taken by both the organisations, in a contract. For a good pitching, both
firms have to follow certain rules and regulations, imbibed in the agreement.
 Timing: The timing also plays a very deep and crucial role in handling of operations. The
firm has to provide the details on regular interval to maintain their trust level and gain a
better support from stake holders.
The rise in the competitive advantage will help the firm to handle its functions in a much
effective and better way (Hochhauser, Weiss and Gal., 2015). The rise in revenue, production
capacity, market share and meeting of clients and stake holders requirements will act as the
better indicative for the firm to gain a good control over the operations and attain a better
customer satisfaction level. The effective pitching process also help in improving the functional
capability of an organisation thus will lead to rise in operational capacity of M & S (Groves,
Feyerherm and Gu, 2015).
M3 Examination of pitching process in M & S and getting idea about maximum chances of
success.
At M & S, the pitching process will help in better handling of operations that will help in
suitable rise in gaining a good competitive advantage over its rivals. This will also help in

supporting the growth and development of operations that help in suitable handling of its
operations. M & S will use the pitching process to gain a good control over its business function
and handle the rise in operational requirements in a better way. Other than this, the effective
pitching process will support the development of mutual understanding among the employee's,
management and the vendor including customers and stake holders. This will improve the trust
level and support the rise in firm revenue generation and sales process (Kennedy, 2017). Besides
this, the improvement in functionality and effectiveness will help in better management of
business operations and rise in its customer base in a very sustainable way. The rise in the
effectiveness of performing the pitching process will help the firm to get a major chance to have
a successful execution of different business operations and meeting the targeted goals and
actions.
D3 Developing of a pitch both dynamic and creative pitch, concise and persuasive in nature to
have a good competitive advantage.
The development of the better and effective pitching, which is concise and persuasive in
nature, by the organisation will help in better handling of business operations that will help in
better handling of business operation and support a good growth and development of the firm
(Curhan 2017). This pitch will help in suitable rise in functionality of organisations and help it to
improve its operations to meet the requirements of its customers. Other than this, the increment
in revenue generation will help in suitable rise in it market sustainability and growth
(Khadhraoui and et.al., 2017). It will help M & S to develop a strategic plan that will facilitate a
good development of organisation and lead to better generation of the firm.
LO4
P6 Potential outcome of pitch
As the pitching will be implemented, it will help M & S to have a good idea about their
operational capability and meeting the targeted goals in a better way. This will help in better risk
assessment and help the firm to make a better plan to rectify it in a very sustainable manner.
Beside this, the pitching will also help in suitable increase in the production capacity and
management of business operations to meet their customers requirements. It will help in avoiding
failure and help in making necessary changes in retail firm (Lin, Kraus and Mazliah, 2014).
Other than this, the pitch will help in developing of better communication process that will
improve customer satisfaction level and develop a good mutual understanding with its stake

holders (Borawski And et.al., 2015). A good pitching will help in better rise in operations and
communication process that will help in better management of the different activities that will be
followed by the business organisation. It will also help in looking after the effective management
of differences and conflict that are been taken in considerations that will support a good
management of the business activities and actions.
Other than this, a good pitching will help in effective management of different operations
that will support a good rise in mutual understanding and gaining a good control over the
operations that will support the cited retail enterprise to mitigate the potential risk factors and
come up with innovative and effective solutions to the different business conflicts and difference.
Apart from this, it will help in effective execution of business activities and gain a good success
in the market (Moore, N., 2017). The different principles of pitching will help in effective
handling of the business activities that are been followed by the enterprise. This will aid the firm
to have a good competitive advantage over it competitors and rivals in market.
P7 Determine how organization fulfil its obligations from the pitch and discuss various issues
that are been discussed?
The pitching procedure is carried out to assure a clear understanding of the organisational
objectives to one and all at the workplace. It is therefore referred to be a useful measure that
largely assists in attracting a huge set of audiences involving the stakeholders like the investor
and customers, etc. On attracting the investors, there exists a significant chance of opportunistic
investments to expand into some requisite areas to effectively serve the customers. M&S is
hereby benefited with this aspect of pitching to enlarge their base in the market. It however
requires a team to ensure maximum reach to the audiences through media. The post pitch
obligations generally involve short listing of candidates by together opting for potent suppliers
and carry out effective campaign's of marketing to attract efficient investors. Although, there
exists some sort of issues that are being faced by M&S where they may not get any potential
investor to spend into the business or may face a high degree of competition. Also, an ineffective
pitching may lead to various atrocious consequences as a challenge for M&S to get effective
outcomes at the end to meet their specified objectives of pitching (Page and Mukherjee, 2014).
Lastly, another common issue of proper and prompt budgeting can arise if not done properly at
the start of designing the pitching process.

M4 Recommendation for M & S for meeting their Post pitch obligation highlighting a potential
issue
After a pitching is been developed and implemented in the organisation, M & S is
required to take in consideration a wide range of operations that will help in suitable handling of
business operations. Beside this, certain operations are to be followed and made in the
organisation that will, help in better rise in operational capacity of a business firm. Some
recommendation for cited retail firm for meeting the post pitching obligations are:
 Managing the pitches and plans or contracts and agreements developed by the firm with
utmost security, to avoid its misuse.
 Maintaining the confidentiality in order to sustain the competency and market growth in a
better way (Alexander, Howieson and Fox, 2015).
 Unsuccessful agencies and organisation are required to be black listed or removed from
proposal and vendor list.
 Such firms must return all the confidential material and other documents that will help in
better handling of operations that will support a better rise in production capacity of firm.
 The creative content or the ideas that are been produced under the agreement are
intellectual property of the organisation. Thus, in this case, M & S is required to look
after the better handling of advertising and purchasing rights of the firm.
One of the potential threat that can be faced by the retail firm is the data security issues.
With the digitalisation of contract process and various documents, hacking and alteration of
terms and conditions is quite possible (Price, 2015). Thus, in this case, the firm is required to
undertake suitable data security measures, that will help the firm to safeguard its intellectual
property.
D4 evaluate pitch and post pitch outcomes to determine potential issue and risk management.
The effective evaluation of pitching and post pitching helps in better handling of the
business operation that help in improving the better meeting of operational requirement of the
company in a better way. The efficient implementation of pitching process and the post pitch
obligations will help the firm to safeguard its data and meet the requirements of customer in a
better way(Saarni, 2015).