Negotiation and Pitching Skills: A Cuisine Coffee Analysis Report

This report delves into the crucial aspects of negotiation and pitching skills within the context of a start-up coffee shop, Cuisine Coffee. It begins by defining negotiation and its significance in business, emphasizing the importance of key stakeholders such as government, suppliers, customers, employees, and investors. The report then outlines the essential information needed for successful deal-making, including knowledge of the other party and the negotiation process. It details key steps in negotiation, from preparation and planning to closure and implementation. Furthermore, the report explains the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, its steps, and relevant documentation. The report also discusses the application of pitching principles for sustainable development. Finally, it determines potential outcomes of pitches and suggests ways organizations can fulfill post-pitch obligations, along with potential issues.

Pitching and Negotiation
Skills

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Negotiation and Key stakeholders during negotiation process..............................................3
Information required for negotiating deals and key steps of negotiation process..................5
Explanation of RFP process and Relevant types of documentation.......................................6
Contractual Process ...............................................................................................................9
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................10
Request for proposal by Lloyd Banking Group...................................................................10
Response By Cuisine Coffee to Request for Proposal.........................................................12
Evaluation of Negotiation and Pitching Process..................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Negotiation skills is the method where difference are settled down. It is the process in
which agreements and compromise are formed avoiding the disputes and arguments. For secure
and better deals, the negotiation skills are very necessary. Pitching skill is all about creating
awareness among the customers that will derived from the solution provided by the company and
compelling the audience for further actions.
Cuisine Coffee is a new start-up which provides the different types of coffees to their
customers. The study includes the overview of the negotiation, mentioning reason behind the
occurrence and evaluation of the key stakeholder in the process of negotiation. Determining the
steps and providing the related information necessary for the negotiation. Further the study
includes the RFP process and contractual process with related documentation. Application of
pitching principles for the sustainable development of the company. The report ends with the
determination of potential outcomes of pitch and suggesting various ways by which an
organization can full-fill all their post-pitch obligations and mentioning the potential issues
which if occurs.
TASK 1Negotiation and Key stakeholders during negotiation process
Negotiation in the business context:-
Negotiation is a process by which
people sort out their differences. It is a
method through which agreement or
compromise is made while avoiding dispute
and arguments. So negotiation in a business
aims at developing an agreement rather than
getting victory in the battle. In other words,
negotiation is a bargaining process in which
two or more parties resolve their issues to
find a common ground and to reach an
agreement. In any disagreement, people aim
to obtain the probable outcome for their
position. So the principles of seeking mutual
interest, fairness or justice and controlling
the relationship are the key points for a
successful outcome (Mejia-Arauz and.et.al.,
2018).
Negotiation can occur in any
business but people also bargain or negotiate
in ordinary situations. It appears when there
are more than two parties who have the
same interests but they have not yet
ascertained that what the result will be. For
instance:- The Cuisine Coffee negotiates
with its suppliers to buy goods at low cost so
that they can achieve better profits.

Importance of Key individuals in negotiation:-
The key individuals or stakeholders play an
important role in the negotiation process as
they are capable to change the decision of
bargaining or outcome of negotiation
process. There are various key stakeholders
of Cuisine Coffee like transitional
government can interfere at various stages of
this process and they can also change the
outcome of negotiation process. The major
key stakeholders are described as below:-
 Government:- The governors,
executives or mayor that carry out
administer budgets and laws
contribute greatly to the growth or
failure of an organization as they
enforce or introduce such regulations
that may affect the operations of
Cuisine Coffee. These members of
parliament or representatives also
govern public budgets at the
provincial or state levels which may
also impact the performance of the
Cuisine Coffee(Nic Giolla Easpaig
and Humphrey, 2017). It can be
possible that the government
increases the price of raw coffee
because of which the profits or
revenues of Cuisine Coffee may
decrease.
 Suppliers:-The suppliers have a
huge impact on the negotiation
process of Cuisine Coffee as the
main aim of its purchasing
professionals is to become successful
in bargaining or negotiations with
the suppliers to achieve the best price
with the great circumstances for each
and every product that is purchased.
It indicates that the purchasing
professionals have to bargain
increasingly better rates with the
suppliers while increasing or
maintaining quality and service. So
the suppliers p[lay an important role
in the negotiation process as the
Cuisine Coffee tries to decrease its
expenditure while raising its
purchasing power.
 Customers:-The customers are also
key stakeholders as they impact the
negotiation process. The managers
need to negotiate and clarify the
product specifications to the
customers so that they get convinced
to buy the products at the price
offered by the marketing department.
So negotiation with the customers is
also important as the management of

Cuisine Coffee has to convince its
customers to buy its products and if
the customers will purchase its
products it will lead to better
revenues and profits of Cuisine
Coffee. Therefore, the Cuisine
Coffee should stay tuned with the
customer's issues and concerns and
keep them informed.
 Employees:-These are also key
stakeholder in the process of
negotiation. The HR managers of
Cuisine Coffee have to negotiate
with the employees regarding
various issues such as salaries,
incentives, bonus and rewards. And
if these managers would have good
negotiation power then it will lead to
better results of the Cuisine Coffee.
So the employees also play an
important role as the employees who
are responsible for hiring candidates
have to negotiate well with the
candidates and offers them right
salary which should be appropriate
for Cuisine coffee as well as for the
candidates.
 Investors/ Funders:-The Cuisine
Coffee also negotiates or convinces
its investors to invest their funds in
the Cuisine Coffee so that it can
implement their plans or proposals
with the help of these investments or
funds. Therefore, the investors or
potential funders also play a major
role in negotiation process as without
the investors Cuisine Coffee will not
get sufficient funds for conducting
its operations efficiently(O'brien,
2016).
Information required for negotiating deals and key steps of negotiation process
Information required to generate best
deals:
There are various powerful
negotiation tactics that Cuisine Coffee needs
to consider in the negotiation process to
achieve the best results. The information
required to get the deal is that Cuisine
Coffee should have the knowledge about the
person with whom it is going to negotiate
and also about the backgrounds of the other
negotiators. It also needs to know about the
negotiation styles and techniques that the
other negotiators use.
Key Steps Of Negotiating and generating
deals:-
For effective negotiation, the negotiator
needs to follow these key steps which are
explained as below:

 Preparation and Planning:-This is
the first step of negotiation process
in which both the parties gather and
organize information required to
conduct an effective negotiation. In
this step, the decisions regarding the
meeting are to be taken like where
and when the meeting will be
conduct to sort out the issues and
also who will attend that meeting as
framing a limited time period will
help the Cuisine Coffee to prevent
the disagreement. Therefore, the
organization needs to properly plan
for the negotiation process as proper
planning before considering the
disagreement will help the negotiator
to avoid further arguments and
unnecessary time consumption.
 Definition of Ground Rules:-The
next step of negotiation is the
definition of ground rules. In this
step procedures and rules for the
strategic negotiation are required to
be prepared. Both the parties try to
figure out the starting point as well
as the lowest point of price for
negotiation. This step also includes
the disclosure of demands and
expectations of both the parties
(Rakin, 2017).
 Clarification and Justification:-
This is the third step in the process of
negotiation in both the parties get
equal chance to justify and explain
their original requests. This step
offers an opportunity to both the
parties to inform and educate each
other about their perspective and
positions as this element of
negotiation should not include any
disputes.
 Bargaining and Problem-solving:-
The next step of negotiation is
bargaining and problem-solving. In
this step suggestions of alternative
compromises and strategies are
required to be considered. Both the
parties should feel that their opinions
have been taken into consideration
and they have earned something
positive through this process of
negotiation as compromises are often
positive options or alternatives which
may often provide greater benefits to
the organization.
 Closure and Implementation:-This
is the last step of negotiation process
as in this step compromise or
agreement between both the parties
have been made. However,
agreement can be made only after

understanding and considering the
view points and interests of both the
parties. Therefore, the agreement
needs to present clearly and both the
parties also need to keep an open
mind to achieve acceptable
outcomes. From this agreement, a
course of action also has to be
executed or implemented to
accomplish the decisions
(Tripopsakul and Charupongsopon,
2017).
So to gather information before
conducting the negotiation process helps the
Cuisine Coffee to get or generate a better
deal as if it would have the sufficient
knowledge about the person with whom it is
going to negotiate then it will help in proper
negotiation of Cuisine Coffee. And also with
the help of proper information, the Cuisine
Coffee will be able to control the negotiation
process efficiently which ultimately lead to
best and win deals(Sullivan,
2015).Explanation of RFP process and
Relevant types of documentation
Tendering a contract is like a formal
response in which a request for tender is
prepared and such request for tender is
considered as a formal document that
highlights the goals of the project and the
services that an organization needs. Request
for Proposal (RFP) is the process of
solicitation and documentation that
communicates the needs and availability of
an organization for a certain service and
appeal various vendors to refer proposals in
consideration for opportunity. In other
words, RFP is a document that refer all the
needs and requirements of the project. The
Cuisine Coffee create RFP for the
forthcoming projects as a form of offer to
potential agencies and contractors. These
agencies and contractors then bid to win the
contract on the basis of requirements of
RFP.
An RFP is how the Cuisine Coffee
presents itself in front of the professional
contacts. However, creating and
maintaining an RFP is a multi- stage process
which includes external communication and
RFP contract negotiations. In other words,
RFP is an opportunity for the employees to
advocate for their team and for themselves.
However, the request for proposal must be
written by the key stakeholders of the
project (Mejia-Arauz and.et.al., 2018).
Steps of RFP process:-
 Project Planning:- The first step of
RFP process is to identify the
achievable needs and wants like

 requirements of the project
and appropriate options for
satisfying these requirements
 boundaries and scope of the
project
 alignment of the project with
the short term and long term
goals of Cuisine Coffee
 Budget and timeline of the
project.
Apart from that the Cuisine
Coffee also needs to consider that who will
be part of selection and bidding process
and who will review RFP submission in the
first step.
 Drafting the RFP Proposal:- This
is the second step of RFP which
cover key information about the
products or services of Cuisine
Coffee and it also includes the
process to discover the best supplier.
However, there is always distinction
in RFP process between private and
public sectors. So all the RFPs
should be properly organized and
include such information which
helps the people in bidding (Lussier
and Kimball, 2019).
 Issuing the RFP:-In this step
Cuisine Coffee can issue the RFP if
it has the list of preferred vendors
however the professional vendors
may help the Cuisine Coffee to find
additional vendors. If Cuisine Coffee
have seen same projects completed,
then it can do some research and find
that who has done that work. Even
Cuisine Coffee can post the RFP on
its website to achieve a broader
response.
 Reviewing Proposals and
Awarding the Contract:- After that
the selection team reviews the
proposals. In this last step the
Cuisine Coffee makes sure to include
main stakeholders in RPF process as
first hand reviewers. However, it
would be helpful for Cuisine Coffee
to have a spreadsheet as it helps to
score bids by adding point values to
every section of RFP response
(Horton, 2016).
Documents required for RFP process:-
 Project Overview
 Proposal Guidelines
 Project Description and Requirements
 Project Deliverable and Scope

 Proposal deadline
 Evaluation Window
 Selection Deadline
 Negotiation Deadline
 Deadline to inform bidders who were not chosen
 Time line for Project Completion
 Budget
 Selection Criteria
 Contact Information.
Formal Response or proposal may include
the letter of intent which is also known as
Memorandum of Understanding(MOU).
Basically, Letter of Intent (LOI) is a
common document which is used to sign a
formal contract. In case RFP response or
proposal is down-selected by the client then
Cuisine Coffee may request to negotiate and
meet the terms of LOI. So signing a letter of
intent is like a contract or is binding but it is
like an abbreviated form of the contract like
the work can start while terms of contract
are negotiated. As part of RFP response
Cuisine Coffee may also request to provide
comments or feedback on the customer's
initial LOI.
Contractual Process
Contract management is the
administration of contracts which includes
procedures and processes that can be
implemented by the company to manage the
execution, negotiation, modification,
termination and performance of contracts
with different parties that includes vendors,
customers, distributors, employees and
contractors. The success of any business
agreements can be identified by the
contracting activities. Mangers are
responsible for resolving and identifying all
business and risk administration issues
which are associated with the contract
between two parties.
For every business contact individual
should develop a checklist of actions that
can be assist by a company for effective
contact management. The following steps
are prescribed below-
Before entering in the contract the
Cuisine coffee must investigate the business

and evaluate the legal background of the
company for contract or a party. Should also
check the proposed transactions of such
company and business relationship in which
the contract is going to be deemed. Then the
appropriate representative of the company
should be interviewed so that they can
determine the relationship which is evolved
in the contract and if any commitments are
made by that party. The special
consideration is also given to potential and
actual effect of the existing company's
obligations and business relationships (Nic
Giolla Easpaig and Humphrey, 2017). They
should identify the all steps and procedure
required for the contract and signature of the
authority procedures and policies of the
Cuisine coffee. After understanding the
scope of the proposed business relation they
should identify the requirements of the
documentation and completing the
immediate transaction if required and then
proceed further for drafting the process and
discover specific questions for the company
and needed to be answered for the accuracy
and completion of the contract. Afterwards
time and responsibility schedule is prepared
for reviewing, drafting, revision, discussion
and completion of all needful activities and
items. This will include all financial
transactions of the company which passes
through different stages over a limited
period of time.
Cuisine coffee must take part in
negotiation of necessary terms of contract
with respect to their role. They should
prepare the letter of understanding and term
sheet to assure parties are in contract
regarding the essential terms before time.
After the collection of the background
information of the company then the initial
draft is each necessary contract and related
documents, where opposite party is
responsible for drafting the initial
documents. After the finalization of
documentation, the closing of transactions
must be prepared which can include
formulation of closing checklist, pre-closing
meetings and memorandum(Sleeman,2019).
After the satisfaction of all proposed
business relationship managing the
accomplishment of closing transactions, and
execution of related documents and any
necessary performance at closing which may
include the payments, should completed.
Once closing is accomplished then all
documents must be well organized and their
copies should delivered to all concerned
parties. They should also ensure that the all
files related to the transactions which were
made during the contracting must be
organized so that they can be easily accessed

if required in future for
questioning(Wiener,2017). After the
finalization of the all process the Cuisine
coffee must prepare a plan with the
representative of other company or party to
reviewing the performance of parties or
company which entered in the contract.
They can prepare a calendar for any
prescribed dates specified in the contract
which requires set of actions which may
include option elections and performance
milestones (Steven and Richard, 2018).
Contract management is very time
consuming but if managed properly this can
be the best way for forming the business
relationships and generating the high
revenues with such relationship. The
contract should be management helps the
Cuisine coffee to manage and avoid the risks
in the business, through the template's
compliance issues can be solved, approved
workflows, deliver the high revenue,
streamline negotiation with online redlining,
fast e-signature which helps the company to
grab opportunities for their success. The
Cuisine coffee may reduce its cost and
mitigate risk by managing all activities and
increase its profit margins.
TASK 2
Request for proposal by Lloyd Banking Group
Request for Proposal is a offer made to various vendors in regard to acquire or give
services to them, as any company cannot internally do everything, it need to go outside for any
financial or banking related help for expansion of its business. Here, for Cuisine Coffee, the
proposal is made by the Lloyd bank in regard to provide various services for its growth.
Description of Project: Finance for Expansion Services
Name Of Company: Lloyd Banking Group
Address: Emerald house
City, Zip Code: London, UK
Procurement Contact Person: James Coleman
Contact Number: 4434530000000
Website: www.lloydsbank.com
Overview of Project
Lloyd Bank is a commercial as well as retail bank which has its branches across England,
it has various branches and also ATM's in England. It provides various financial services of

personal as well as commercial nature. Its vision is to be the best bank in providing financial and
banking services to its customers(Lawson and et.al, 2019).
Purpose of RFP
The main reason behind the RFP is to provide best of financial services for expansion of
the new start-up Cuisine Coffee, which is a small coffee shop and not a national chain brand. By
providing banking and financial services Lloyds bank will help in financial services related to hi-
tech supply, installing of various necessary machinery and equipment(Giant, 2019).
Project Goals And Services Provided
Lloyds bank are seeking services of full time finance and banking to various sectors of
economy for expansion which will be cost effective and also focuses on online services through
which it can seek more customers and serve a wide area or group by its online, offline banking
services. It has also made its online websites for solving any query related to the services
provided by it and also developed search engines for better banking services to its existing and
new customers.
Targeted Audience
Its targeted audiences are the small entrepreneurs, businesses which are independent in
nature and does not comes under or are the subsidiary of any national level chain. By helping
such customers it wants to help them in creating their own brand image and expanding their
business.
Selection Schedule
Proposal time line's request:
 RFP's Request: September 28, 2019
 Deadline for submission of questions: October 28, 2019
 Cuisine Coffee's Response to Questions: November 2, 2019
 Selection and Notification: November 6, 2019
 Starting of Negotiation: November 25, 2019
 Awarding Contract: December 25, 2019
Time line
Time line for accepting the proposal by Cuisine Coffee for availing the financial services
for expansion of its new start up project of coffee shop through installation of equipment and