Report on Pitching and Negotiation Skills in Business Development

This report provides an analysis of pitching and negotiation skills within a business development context, using Microsoft and Nokia as case studies. It defines negotiation, explores reasons for its occurrence, and identifies key stakeholders involved in the negotiation process. The report evaluates the steps and information required for negotiating and generating deals, explains the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, and outlines the types of documentation needed. Furthermore, it explains the contractual process and how relevant documentation is managed and monitored. The report also develops an appropriate pitch, discusses the principles applied in achieving a sustainable competitive edge while developing a pitch, and assesses the potential outcomes of a pitch, including how organizations fulfill their obligations and identify potential issues. Recommendations are provided based on the analysis. Desklib provides this and many other solved assignments to help students.

Pitching and
Negotiation Skills

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Task 1..........................................................................................................................................1
What is a negotiation?............................................................................................................1
Why negotiation occurs?........................................................................................................2
Who the key stakeholders are during a negotiation process?.................................................2
Evaluate the steps and information required for negotiating & generating deals..................2
Task 2..........................................................................................................................................3
Explain the RFP process.........................................................................................................3
Types of documentation required in RFP process..................................................................4
Explain the contractual process..............................................................................................4
How relevant documentation is managed and monitored......................................................4
Task 3..........................................................................................................................................5
Develop an appropriate pitch..................................................................................................5
Principles applied in achieving sustainable competitive edge while developing a pitch.......5
Task 4..........................................................................................................................................6
Assess the potential outcomes of a pitch................................................................................6
How organizations fulfil their obligations for a pitch?..........................................................6
Identify potential issues that can occur..................................................................................6
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
References:.......................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Negotiation can be defined as the procedure where multiple individuals conduct
discussion with their different goals and objectives in order to resolve the issues so that they can
draw an acceptable solution for all the parties involved in it. Positive negotiations results in
businesses success which supports in developing the better relationships with stakeholders.
Organizations chosen here are the Microsoft and Nokia. Microsoft is one of the leading
international technology company headquartered in United States and established in 1975. it
provides products and services such as computer software and consumer electronics along with
the personal computers and related services. Nokia is one of the leading international
telecommunications company headquartered in Finland and established in 1865. Its products and
services includes mobile phones and networks. The following discussion is based in the context
of these organizations such as on the negotiation, stakeholders involved, steps for negotiation,
RFP process, documentation required, contractual process, pitching, principles, outcomes,
obligations and issues along with the proper findings, recommendations and conclusion.
(Jiménez Muñoz, 2019).
MAIN BODY
Task 1
What is a negotiation?
Negotiation is all about discussion among two or parties on a mutual topic but different
understanding and perception which finally draws the solution that is acceptable by all. It has a
specific skills that are used while having a discussion such as effective verbal speaking and
listening along with the reducing any misunderstanding and rapport building which is followed
by the problem solving and decision making and also the assertiveness and dealing with difficult
situations. As per the given scenario in the case study, negotiation explained between the
Microsoft and Nokia which has merged initially in 2013 but due to some cultural issues,
Microsoft acquired the Nokia with all its assets. Negotiation were made on the products and
services provided by both the companies and also the employees and further assets as well so
that they can share their resources and present something new in the marketplace because both
are the brands in their own industries (Fletcher, 2018).
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Why negotiation occurs?
Reason behind occurrence of negotiation are such that it totally depends upon the needs
and requirements of the businesses who wants to negotiate about what things like sharing
resources or merges or acquisition and many more reasons. Moreover, if owners wants to expand
their business to next level or wants to diversify their product portfolio will definitely tries to
negotiate with someone who can provide them some platform so that they can execute their new
plan. As per the given scenario in the case study of Microsoft and Nokia, reason behind of
merging and acquiring among both the companies was Nokia because due to the tough
competition in the market, Nokia didn't able to maintain their stability in the industry and
therefore, in order to save any loss, both the companies has negotiated to merge themselves. But
it failed then Microsoft decided to acquire the Nokia due to the cultural issues such as differences
in the behaviour of employees and employers, they were facing challenges in collaborating the
cultures of both the countries that is America and Finland. Integration was becoming difficult so
this is the reason of occurrence of negotiation between both the companies (Cruz, van den
Bogaard, Saunders-Smits and Groen, 2020).
Who the key stakeholders are during a negotiation process?
At the time of negotiation process, there are many stakeholders involved which monitors
the business and evaluate the negotiation benefits so that results can be better than before rather
than any losses. People who are involved in the decision making process are the major
stakeholders of negotiation process and other members who are the senior leaders and mangers.
Shareholders has a major role so that they make decisions in their investments and suggest the
right things to the organization. As per the given scenario in the case study of Microsoft and
Nokia, there are basic and major stakeholders who were involved in a negotiation process of both
the companies which means they have involved only those people who have major access to the
strategic decision making. Such as senior board of directors and shareholders (Kim, Kretch,
Zhou and Finley, 2018).
Evaluate the steps and information required for negotiating & generating deals
There are various steps and information which are involved in negotiation process and to
generate deals such as first is preparation and planning of what to negotiate for and conducting
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the feasibility study and return on investment as well. Second is definition of ground rules which
means that after planning, rules and norms along with the policies are important to define for
better working in a systematic manner. Third is clarification and justification which means that
two parties who desires to negotiate must clear and justify each and every thing they are aspiring
for from each other in order to avoid any misunderstanding on the mutual decision making.
Fourth is bargaining and problem solving which means that negotiation results in clashing of
opinions so therefore, bargaining is a major process so that one party can explain their point of
view to other and vice versa in order to solve the problem with mutual understanding and
decision making. Fifth is closure and implementation which means that proper closure of
negotiation and execution part is to be started for better implementation of the negotiation
process (Krukowski, 2019).
Task 2
Explain the RFP process
Request for proposal can be defined as the document which encompasses the proposal
which is formulated through a process of bidding by any company or an agency who are
interested in procurement of their products and services to their suppliers in order to submit
business proposals. There are various steps involved in the RFP process such as first is
establishing the project boundaries. Second is the identification of key stakeholders and advisors.
Third is taking to the stakeholders and defining the project needs and requirements. Fourth is to
write the RFP process which includes organisational background, short project description,
project requirements and objectives, project budget, milestones and deadlines, questions and
required information, contact information and deadline for submissions, defining audience, list
required and desired features, noting any system integration needs, indicating any tools or
systems and clarifying development process. Fifth is creating a draft for scoring criteria. Sixth is
circulating the RFP. Seventh is reviewing responses. Eighth is researching advanced
technologies. Ninth is researching the vendor's track records. Tenth is scoring the responses and
selecting the vendor. Eleventh is negotiation and signing a contract (Gbadegeshin, 2018).
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Types of documentation required in RFP process
There are various types of documentation is required in request for proposal process such
as international inspection is highly required on the priority and clean on board bill of lading
along with the certificate of factory inspection and certificate of origin which is followed by the
legalised documents and consulate attestation and also the SGS and BVQI inspection. Moreover,
certificate of phyto sanitary and certificate of chemical analysis along with the certificate of
shipped on board and certificate of freight. These are the major documents but other are also
required as per the needs and requirements of the parties who are negotiating for example as per
the given scenario of case study of Microsoft and Nokia (Islam, Jantan, Hunt, and Abdullah,
2019).
Explain the contractual process
Contractual process has various steps to follow such as first is planning and forecasting
the current situation and future considerations as well so that better feasibility study can be
conducted in the initial stages. Second is contract initiation which means that after the planning
and proper estimation of resources is being conducted in the previous stage, now it is important
to initiate the contract. Third step is contract solicitation which means that the reason for which
the contract is formulated must have to acquire so that better implementation process can take
place. Fourth is contract evaluation which means that it is essential to analyse and examine the
contract for better results out of it. Fifth step is the contract award which means that a proper
certificate has to be issues after finalising everything as a legal prove of contract. Sixth is
administration which means that the entire process is administered in an appropriate manner for
better monitoring of it (Cualheta and da Silva Abbad, 2020).
How relevant documentation is managed and monitored
There are various steps which helps in management of documentation and monitoring of
it such that first is to designating the file management team so that they can be able to know
about the documents and how to handle them. Second is to establishing the file management
procedures so that the work can be performed in a systematic manner. Third is to creating the
planning and scheduling the file so that work can be performed in a timely manner. Fourth is to
organising the existing files so that the clashing and messing up of the documents can be
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reduced. Fifth is to purging the existing files which are out of date which means these are the
unnecessary content. Sixth is to arrange the storage and disposal of it on a frequent basis for
better management of documents. Seventh is the ongoing maintenance of the documents (Khan,
Luomakoski, Heikkilä and Mubaraz, 2020).
Task 3
Develop an appropriate pitch
There are various measures which develops an appropriate pitch such as getting to the
point fast so that any unnecessary content cannot be added initially which looks vague. It is
important to present in a limited manner so that over communication cannot be felt by other
party. Establishing the needs and requirements to other parties are essential because then only
they would take interest otherwise not. Using a message map is significant to develop a pitch so
that accurate strategy can be find out for better pitching skills for negotiation part. It is crucial to
use the more than one level to create the pitch so that it does not get boring while
communication. It is imperative to specify the competitors so that competitive advantages can be
explained well without any confusion and misunderstandings. It is vital to make the introduction
of the team which looks professional. Not to beg is an important step along with the learning
from others for better future decisions (Fernández-Vázquez and Álvarez-Delgado, 2020).
Principles applied in achieving sustainable competitive edge while developing a
pitch
There are various principles applied in achieving sustainability in competitive edge while
developing the pitch such as the proper market research is conducted at the time of preparing for
the pitch along with the target audience is that the whole pitch looks genuine and valid in front of
the other parties. It is important to make all such things sustainable in entire so that is why the
presentation method is used for delivering the content or a pitch to other party because it also
looks professional which creates good impression on the stakeholders as well. Moreover, another
principle used is the customer satisfaction part so that other party can also focus on the
negotiation part (Cruz, van den Bogaard, Saunders-Smits and Groen, 2020).
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Task 4
Assess the potential outcomes of a pitch
There are various possibilities for the outcomes of a pitch such as the possibility one is
that the party can enter into the due diligence with a venture capital firm. Possibility two is that
the party can hear the words like no because of the rejection of the offer from other party.
Possibility three is that the party will hear nothing which means the other party sometimes don't
respond to the offer made due to several personal reasons. Possibility four is the response of
other party that next time they will consider after some more attempts of succession. Possibility
five is the good news to the party who offered the other party due to the acceptance of the offer
(Moreau, 2018),
How organizations fulfil their obligations for a pitch?
Organizations fulfil their obligations for a pitch in such a way they take care for the
legalities while developing the pitch and when they receive the responses. This is because ethical
and legal nature is mandatory to ensure while performing such activities. Because such activities
creates a lots of misunderstandings which can result in a negative outcome for the same. That is
why the obligations must take care with the help of proper documentation process so that
everything must be written on a paper with proper signatures so that it should look legal when
require showcase anywhere. Moreover, obligations can be fulfilled when organization has
documents of each process that is being performed so that other party cannot go against of any
pitching or negotiation (Tanno, 2019).
Identify potential issues that can occur
There are some issues which can be identified to occur at the time of negotiation and
pitching such as poor planning can lead to great loss to the organization because further steps are
dependent on the planning process. Unethical behaviour can spoil the market terms even with the
competitors also. Accepting the deal too quickly get have a bad impression on other party.
Dismissing cultural differences is a major issue because of the different background of
employees and employers from both the parties to gathered for negotiation (Faff, Kastelle,
Axelsen and Walsh, 2021).
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Recommendations
It is recommended that the organizations must be clear on their negotiation goals by
determining the core negotiation strategy so the the negotiation signature can be understood in an
effective and efficient manner. Moreover, it is also suggested that the organization must build
motivation among the people who are involved in the scenario so that they can play over the
other party in a beneficial manner.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that pitching and negotiation skills is an important concept to learn and
study so that its applications can be applied in the real world organizations. As per the given case
study given, negotiation is shown between the Microsoft and Nokia companies. For better study,
it is important to analyse the concept of negotiation. It is necessary to determine the reason
behind occurring of negotiation. It is essential to examine the key stakeholders during a
negotiation process. It is significant to evaluate the steps and information required for negotiating
& generating deals. It is crucial to gain the knowledge about the RFP process. It is imperative to
assess the types of documentation required in RFP process. It is vital to investigate the
contractual process. It is required to study the management and monitoring of relevant
documentation. It is needed to learn about the development of an appropriate pitch. It is relevant
to identify the principles applied in achieving sustainable competitive edge while developing a
pitch. It is reliable to assess the potential outcomes of a pitch and how organisations fulfil their
obligation from a pitch along with the identification of potential issues that can occur. Hence,
this report covers all such areas in order to better understand the conception of pitching and
negotiation Skills.
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References:
Books and Journals
Cruz, M.L., van den Bogaard, M.E., Saunders-Smits, G.N. and Groen, P., 2020. Testing the
Validity and Reliability of an Instrument Measuring Engineering Students’ Perceptions of
Transversal Competency Levels. IEEE Transactions on Education. 64(2). pp.180-186.
Cruz, M.L., van den Bogaard, M.E., Saunders-Smits, G.N. and Groen, P., 2020. Testing the
Validity and Reliability of an Instrument Measuring Engineering Students’ Perceptions of
Transversal Competency Levels. IEEE Transactions on Education. 64(2). pp.180-186.
Cualheta, L.P. and da Silva Abbad, G., 2020. What does entrepreneurship education look like in
Brazil? An analysis of undergraduate teaching plans. Education+ Training.
Faff, R., Kastelle, T., Axelsen, M. and Walsh, K., 2021. Pitching research for engagement and
impact: a simple tool and illustrative examples. Accounting & Finance. 61(2). pp.3329-
3383.
Fernández-Vázquez, J.S. and Álvarez-Delgado, R.C., 2020. Persuasive strategies in the SME
entrepreneurial pitch: Functional and discursive considerations. Economic research-
Ekonomska istraživanja. 33(1). pp.2342-2359.
Fletcher, D., 2018. Looking to the future: how can we further develop critical pedagogies in
entrepreneurship education?. Revitalizing Entrepreneurship Education.
Gbadegeshin, S.A., 2018, November. Commercialization Skills: Necessity for High Technology
Entrepreneurs in Digital Era. In Proceedings of the Future Technologies Conference (pp.
965-975). Springer, Cham.
Islam, M.A., Jantan, A.H., Hunt, A., and Abdullah, M.M., 2019. Exploration of barriers faced by
female graduate entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability
Issues. 7(2). p.1000.
Jiménez Muñoz, A.J., 2019. Beyond language: a multimodal analysis of success in non-native
Business-English pitches. Ibérica, 37.
Khan, R., Luomakoski, J., Heikkilä, J. and Mubaraz, S., 2020. STUDENTS’PERCEPTION OF
BUSINESS IDEA GENERATION: A CASE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL HACKATHON.
In INTED2020 Proceedings: 14th International Technology, Education and Development
Conference Valencia, Spain. 2-4 March, 2020. International Academy of Technology,
Education and Development.
Kim, A., Kretch, K.S., Zhou, Z. and Finley, J.M., 2018. The quality of visual information about
the lower extremities influences visuomotor coordination during virtual obstacle
negotiation. Journal of neurophysiology. 120(2). pp.839-847.
Krukowski, K.A., 2019. Pitching Power: Increasing Alternatives through Signals in New
Venture Funding (Doctoral dissertation, Oklahoma State University).
Moreau, C.P., 2018, October. Discursive diversity in the entrepreneurial pitch: Creating and
communicating a marketplace space (CAMS) in the high-stakes reality TV show shark
tank. In Proceedings of the 83rd Annual International Conference Association for
Business Communication at: Miami, Florida, USA.
Tanno, S., 2019. Differences in rhetorical and non-verbal communication of startup pitches in
American and Swiss cultures.
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