Report on Pitching and Negotiation Skills in Business Context

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of pitching and negotiation skills within a business context. It begins by defining negotiation, identifying stakeholders involved, and outlining key steps and required information for successful deal-making. The report then delves into the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, detailing the necessary documentation and contractual procedures, including procurement methods. Furthermore, it explores the development of effective pitches, applying relevant principles and assessing potential outcomes. The report also examines how organizations fulfill obligations arising from pitches and addresses potential issues. It covers various negotiation tactics, planning, and the importance of clear communication and documentation throughout the process, offering valuable insights into the practical application of these skills in real-world business scenarios.

Pitching and Negotiation
Skills

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION:..........................................................................................................................1
LO1..................................................................................................................................................1
P1 What is negotiation and stakeholders involved in negotiation process.............................1
P2 Key steps and information required in negotiating deals..................................................2
LO2..................................................................................................................................................4
P3 What is RFP process and types of documentation required..............................................4
P4 Contractual process and how documentation is managed.................................................6
LO3..................................................................................................................................................7
P5 Developing appropriate pitch by applying principles ......................................................7
LO4..................................................................................................................................................8
P6 Assess the potential outcomes of pitch.............................................................................8
P7 How organisation fulfil obligation from pitch..................................................................9
CONCLUSION:...............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES:.............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION:
Negotiating between parties creates a positive and successful environment that is useful
for effective working of employees. It is useful in solving conflicts between employees which
helps in building strong relationship with others. Negotiation can be done in various ways, it
depends upon how a party wants to deal with it. This report will show how stakeholders are
involved in negotiating process and what information and steps are required in this process. Also,
what is request for approval (RFP) and contractual process and documentation required in it is
explained (Canick, 2014). Along with this how pitching principles are applied in negotiation and
its outcomes are analysed. Furthermore, how organisation obligations are fulfilled from a pitch
and issues that occurs in it are discussed.
LO1
P1 What is negotiation and stakeholders involved in negotiation process
Negotiation is a process of reaching an agreement by having a discussion by parties
involved in it. It follows a systematic process in which there are various ways of communicating
with parties and reaching for a final agreement. For making negotiation between parties it is
important that person involved in it must possess effective negotiation skills. These skills play a
very crucial role in communicating, listening, etc. and negotiating with others. Managers should
be expertise in identifying person with these skills so that it is beneficial for Marks ans Spencer
to use them. It will also save cost and time by going to a third party for having a negotiation. It
also helps in reducing conflicts and creating a friendly environment within organisation. It is
useful in long term as negotiation done will ensure smooth flow of business operations (Cenere
and et..al 2015 ).
Negotiation occurs because of disagreement between parties related to any wrong way of
doing business. It generally occurs between employee and employer due to change in policies or
salary. It occurs when there is more than one outcome in which both parties are interested. So to
reach final agreement it is important negotiation must be done between them. It is essential for
business to negotiate with others so no issue occurs between them afterwards. For example- a
person wants to sell his car, so an agreement must be made with another individual for
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purchasing a second hand car. It will contain all terms and conditions regrading buying and
selling (.Green, Pease and Davila 2016).
Stakeholders provides a platform to get involved by acting as a third party. It will be
beneficial for business to use them as tool in this process. Good negotiating skills contributes in
building strong relationships with stakeholders. There are several stakeholders involved in
negotiation process.
Employees- They are the best option available for organisation to deal with negotiation.
Employee union can be involved in this process as they are well known about policies and
strategies of negotiating.
Customers- Sometimes, negotiation is done with help of customers. They are persons that can
be allowed to participate in process.
Government- It is the most common element that is used by business in negotiation process. It
provided parties an easier way to reach a final agreement. For any company they are the last
option that remains for negotiating (Fletcher 2018).
Directors- It refers to top management that is responsible for developing negotiation strategies
and policies. It consists of a group of people who are experienced enough to deal with
negotiation. Moreover, they possess effective skills which is useful in overall negotiation
process.
P2 Key steps and information required in negotiating deals
For successfully having a negotiation process it is important that all information
regarding negotiation is known. It will be useful in providing suggestions to parties and other
methods of negotiating. Without having proper knowledge and information it becomes difficult
to get involved in negotiation. This hampers the process and results in disagreement between
parties. Information require in negotiating deals is described below:-
 Background information- It refers to information related to the main issues for which
both the parties is disagreed. It is gathered by having research about problem and which
parties are involved in it (Haddad 2014).
 Goal- Have a negotiation with a defined goal. It means that a goal must be prepared on
how to settle parties. It enables parties to go for a agreement.
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 Plan- It indicates that how a will a negotiation occurs and what ways will be there to
deal with different situations. A plan shows a method through which negotiation process
will take place. It also determines the strategy of dealing with parties.
Negotiation tactics and strategy depends upon parties involved in it and how they want to
deal with it. It also shows interest of parties whether they want to negotiate or not. There are
several tactics through which it can dealt with it (Horton 2016).
 Bundle- It is done when a negotiation is made. In this seller negotiate with buyer to buy
in bundle rather than one item. This forces buyer to enter in negotiation easily.
 Barter- It is a traditional system in which goods are exchanged with goods. There is no
involvement of money or any other thing.
 Keep it light- always feel free to communicate with party. It will be useful in having a
deep conversation with them and understanding their demands.
 Written communication- It is the best way to negotiate with each party without wasting
time and money. Also, it can be used as a proof while making an agreement.
 Silence and time- Keeping silence will put other party in pressure. Also, take time while
making an offer this will show that you have other options to deal with it.
Process of negotiation-
 Preparing and planning- It is the first step in which all information regarding conflict is
identified. In this the certain things are identified such as people involved, their
demands, etc. It is useful in preparing for step needs to be taken by developing a proper
plan.
 Defining rules- In this stage certain rules are made which shows how and where
negotiation will take place. It describes people involved in this process and procedure
followed by each party in reaching an agreement. During this parties exchange their
demands and needs (Junoh 2014).
 Clarification and justification- After exchanging their demands parties communicate
with face to face to clarify, amplify, etc. their issues and needs. Also, documents are also
provided in case of proof by either party.
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 Bargaining and problem solving- In this stage parties are allowed to bargain with each
other so that they can reach an agreement. Also, problems that arises while negotiation
are solved. It is a step in which both parties are ready to negotiate with each other.
 Closure and implementation- A final step in which agreement are finalised and signed
by both parties. It relates to a formal contract in which all terms and conditions of
negotiation is mentioned. Therefore, negotiation is done and is implemented by both
parties (Nudelman 2017).
LO2
P3 What is RFP process and types of documentation required
Request for proposal process is a document that is issued by an organisation to offer bids
from vendors. It is done for procurement of commodity or service to get business proposals. It
includes specifications, statements, etc. that is required by organisation from the vendor. Also, it
shows that how a vendor will be responsible for delivering goods and what tasks will be
performed by him. It is issued for various reasons as it benefits organisation by multiple bidding
and vendor configuration. Steps involved in RFP process is as follows:-
 Establish project boundaries- It involves defining requirements of project constraints.
Several factors are considered in this such as budget of project, deadline of completing
project, technical requirement of project, etc. It helps in guiding RFP process.
 Identify stakeholder- In this stage stakeholder are identified so that RFP can be drafted.
It is done to evaluate the response or finding out effective vendor through it.
 Defining project needs- It enables organisation to define project needs by having a
discussion with stakeholders. This helps in taking suggestions of stakeholders.
 Writing RFP- After discussion RFP is written which consists different things such as
features, budget, etc. are specified by organisation (O'brien 2016).
 )
 Circulate RFP- After drafting RFP it is circulated to potential vendors through media. It
can be either newspaper, internet, or any other source.
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 Review responses- the responses of vendors are reviewed with certain criteria set by the
company. It is a stage which requires a lot of time and experienced experts. It is the most
important as different factors are reviewed in this.
 Vendor records- from various vendors some of them are selected and their track record
is identified. Records should be relate by matching project size, budget, etc. The list is
narrowed down and arrangements are made to meet the vendor (Paço, Ferreira and
Raposo, 2017).
 Selecting and signing a contract- At last a vendor is selected by company for the
project. It does not end here, rather a contract is signed by vendor to get involved in the
project. A contract becomes legal for a vendor ton provide goods mentioned in RFP.
RFP should include information regarding organisation background and a short project
description which will help vendor in taking interest in RFP. Moreover, it must contain project
objectives and budget. Deadline is specified that allows vendor to produce goods within time
limit. Contact information and submission dates is mandatory.
The RFP document contains several important elements that is defined below:-
 Planning- It is done to save time and cost in drafting RFP and selecting appropriate
vendor. In this the overall procedure of RFP is defined so that it becomes easy for
company to deal with this process.
 Defining need- It is the most important component as it provides insight to vendor on
your needs. It usually takes long time to define needs and communicating to vendors.
Also, information about organisation, culture is given (Sullivan 2015).
 Communication strategy- It indicates the way in which company will communicate
with vendors. Vendors should know what is required or not.
 Evaluation criteria- In this how RFP will be evaluated is discussed. This shows specific
criteria required in evaluating vendor proposal.
P4 Contractual process and how documentation is managed
Procurement means an act of buying and selling goods or services. It involves a process
through which a vendor is selected and contact is signed. A contractual process is one in which
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parties enter into a contract to perform activities in a systematic way. Its main objective is to
define role and responsibilities of each party in effective manner. There are 6 methods through
which procurement can be done.
Open tendering- In this the bidding is done by company openly to all vendors. It helps in
encouraging effective competition thus obtaining better goods. It is not suitable method as it do
not focus on quality measures.
Restricted tendering- It is also known a selective tendering due to only a specific amount of
vendors are allowed to bid for goods. These vendors are sent by suppliers. Certain guidelines are
used by procurement team while selecting a vendor. It is suitable to select best agency to supply
goods (Vogel 2015).
Request for proposal (RFP)- It is process in which a document is issued by entity to offer bids
from vendors. It is done for procuring commodity or service to get business proposals. It
includes specifications, statements, etc. that is required by entity from the vendor.
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Illustration 1: Contracting Process
Source: Arizona Board of Regents, 2018

Two stage tendering- In includes two procedures for selecting a vendor. The first stage is
similar to RFP and second procedure refers to submitting partial proposal rather full proposal. It
allows room for making some change in proposal to get a qualified bid.
Request for quotations- Generally, it is used by small business to have quick selection of goods
and services. It saves time and cost as it do not require a lot of paperwork. Like RFP it is not
having a formal draft proposal. Quotations are submitted by vendors and selection is made by
entity (Tripopsakul and Charupongsopon 2017)..
Single source- It happens when an entity acquire goods only from one sole provider. This
method is applied under strict provisions by determining each element in detail.
A contract becomes illegal when any party do not follow a particular terms and conditions.
Therefore, a contract law shows that an agreement is made between two parties which is
enforced by law. But a contract can be broken inn several ways. A contract is amended when any
addition, correction is made by party in the contract. In this situation the entire contract is not
replaced rather only some parts are substituted in it. Breach of contract means any condition that
has been made in contract is been broken by either side. It may be related to goods, price, etc.
Breaking down of contract may allow party to take legal action against it. The main types of
breach are minor, material, fundamental or anticipatory.
LO3
P5 Developing appropriate pitch by applying principles
The structure of pitching for investment needs to be developed by the organization in
order to make an appropriate influence on the investors so that they will make investment on
their business projects (Vogel 2015). In present case, it is identified that the structure of company
will emphasis on the following principles which are mentioned above:
 Brand loyalty: For getting it is essential for organisation to have effective customers
base in market. Loyalty of customers in market towards the brand and its products will
influence the investors to make an investment in its project. Thus, it is clear needs to
provide information about customers loyalty towards brand in their structure to pitch for
investment.
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 Innovation: Introduction of innovation is also major principle for organization that needs
to be considered my managers while pitching for investment. In present case, managers
of Cited will also include some innovative changes in order to develop new and products
which will provide an influence on their shareholders that company will achieve the
growth in future and this will enable them to make new make investment in companies
policies(Nudelman 2017).
 Networking and partnerships: It is also essential for the enterprise to determine
network of business which they used to sell their business operations clearly in their
pitching report so that investors can receive full information about the companies future
competencies of gaining profits. Along with this, company also needs to disclose their
partnership which they have with other companies in overseas nations so that investors
will get an appropriate understanding about its current financial positions and make
investments in project according to it. It will provide them support to build a bridge of
trust during a pitch and importance of providing realistic solutions to problems,
opportunity focus and partnership approaches.
Thus, it can be said that by analysing these principles company will be able to influence
their investors and sustain its competitive edge in market as compared to rivals.
LO4
P6 Assess the potential outcomes of pitch
It is very important to analyse outcomes of pitch that helps in taking the next step. There
are four possible outcomes of pitch (Green, Pease and Davila 2016).
Entering into a diligence- It means that you have successfully attracted the interest of a venture
capital firm to invest in the business. In this there exists two types of situation. First is by signing
a no shop agreement. It means you can not approach to any other investor now. Second is by not
signing a agreement. It means that you can approach to another investor. In this investors can
also work together to provide fund.
Hearing NO or THANK YOU- It is an outcome in which investor clearly says no to your
business idea. It means that investors is not interested in funding. Getting a clear answer provides
a way to focus on other things.
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Getting no response- It is an outcome in which a confusion is created. Investor is not able to
make a decision whether he is interested or not. In order to get a clear response, asking right
questions is the best way. It will help in figuring next move.
Response of come back later- In this case venture capital wants to observe your business
growth and then make a decision on funding or not. It is directly related to the future of business
(Fletcher 2018).
P7 How organisation fulfil obligation from pitch
Organisation can use different techniques to get obliged from pitch. They can terminate contract
or reject negotiation. Contracts can be terminate in many ways:-
 Impossibility of performance- It is terminated when one party is not able to fulfil duties
describes in contract. Then company can break it in case of impossibility of performance.
 Breach of contract- It is terminated when a party failed to meet his obligations described
in contract.
 Prior agreement- The contract is terminated by a specific reason given by a party. This
reason must be given prior in written and within a specific time period.
 Rescission- When an individual or party intentionally make a mistake in a contract, it is
terminated. In this legal actions are taken against the party.
 Completion- A contract is terminated if all obligation mentioned in it are completed by
both the parties. Documents are shown of duties and responsibilities that is effectively
fulfilled by each party (Sullivan 2015).
CONCLUSION:
From this report it is concluded that negotiation helps a company in building strong
relationships and better environment. Employees, customers and government can play third party
role in having a negotiation. Moreover, the process of negotiation is discussed with information
required in it. The request for proposal process and its components planning, evaluation need,
etc. is mentioned. Open tender, RFP, etc. are some types of procurement process that is described
and how a contract is breached is also discussed. The four basic pitch outcomes are mentioned.
At last types of terminating contracts are discussed.
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REFERENCES:
Books and Journals:
Canick, S., 2014. Infusing Technology Skills into the Law School Curriculum. Cap. UL
Rev., 42. p.663.
Cenere, P., Gill, R., Lawson, C. and Lewis, M., 2015. Communication Skills for Business
Professionals 7. Cambridge University Press.
Fletcher, D., 2018. Looking to the future: how can we further develop critical pedagogies in
entrepreneurship education?. Revitalizing Entrepreneurship Education: Adopting a critical
approach in the classroom.
Green, E., Pease, M. and Davila, A., 2016. A FELLOWSHIP APPROACH TO
ACCELERATING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS.
Haddad, C., 2014. PR for plumbers: Winning business: Is price everything?. Plumbing
Connection, (Summer 2014).p.74.
Horton, S., 2016. The Leader's Guide to Negotiation: How to Use Soft Skills to Get Hard
Results. Pearson UK.
Junoh, M.Z.H.M., 2014. An integrated approach in entrepreneurship education using MAIR
framework. Advances in Environmental Biology. pp.497-501.
Nudelman, G.R., 2017. Engineering identity: Analysing e-portfolios in a professional
communications course. South African Journal of Higher Education.31(2). pp.211-225.
O'brien, J., 2016. Negotiation for Procurement Professionals: A Proven Approach that Puts the
Buyer in Control. Kogan Page Publishers.
Paço, A., Ferreira, J. and Raposo, M., 2017. HOW TO FOSTER YOUNG
SCIENTISTS'ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT?. International Journal of
Entrepreneurship.21(1).
Sullivan, G.R., 2015. Leadership Development in the Workplace. Leadership and Women in
Statistics. p.259.
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