A case study on business etiquette and communication?

In business activities, both parties will clarify the relevant terms of cooperation through business communication such as negotiation in the early stage of business cooperation. So how can we not only promote smooth cooperation between the two parties in business negotiations but also gain greater benefits for ourselves? Here are a few articles I have compiled for you. I hope it will be helpful to you.

Chapter 1

When the vice president of a British beer company went to South America for a business trip, he received a fax from the headquarters, asking him to stop by Jamaica and a local liqueur exporter on his way home. Managers of the company discuss business. But the problem was that he didn't have a visa to travel to Jamaica on official business. He wanted to apply for one temporarily, but he didn't have enough time. So, he had to come to Kingston's Norman Ray Airport as a tourist. At the passport check point, the immigration officer determined from the work diary and correspondence in his wallet that he was traveling on official business, so he was not allowed to enter the country. He repeatedly told the immigration officer that he was only here for a short break before returning to London. Only then was he reluctantly allowed to enter. As soon as he settled in the hotel, he called the liqueur exporter. Just after making the call, an immigration official came and said that he came here for business purposes and did not obtain the proper visa. He was told that he would be closely monitored by relevant parties and that if he was found to be engaged in business activities, he would be deported immediately and impose a heavy fine. For two days, there was always a policeman beside him, like a shadow. He had to pass the time like a tourist. It seems that this trip will only be a waste of time and money. But before he left, he concluded a business deal with the exporter in front of the police. The hotel has a swimming pool, and there is a bar next to the pool for guests to have a drink and take a rest. The surveillance police saw him and a young girl in a bikini sitting in front of the bar drinking, and chatting with the bartender. Unexpectedly, the waiter was actually dressed as an exporter, and the young girl was his female secretary.

Case analysis:

As long as you can think of a way, no red tape can stop people from talking about business. It can be used to discuss business anywhere and in any scenario. In China, many private owners will especially use the time they have to eat with their guests to do business, and there are also many people who will do business while accompanying their guests on a trip.

The British were the first country to succeed in the Industrial Revolution, and they also showed a very clever use of business skills. Wisdom is a characteristic of the British, and drinking beer is also a British habit. European style and fun are also in line with British habits. As an excellent nation, intellectual success is certain.

Chapter 2

[Case Facts]: In late July 1995, Mr. Zhang, general manager of a Sino-foreign joint venture real estate development company in Chongqing, learned that the famous Australian designer Mr. Nick Bossie would A short stopover in Shanghai. General Manager Zhang believes that Australian architecture brings together the classics of world architecture, not to mention that Mr. Nick Bossie is a famous contemporary architectural designer. In order to build the Golden Shield Building under construction into a luxurious and stylish building that is both convenient for business offices and suitable for Modern integrated commercial and residential buildings for home life must be designed scientifically and rationally, and not fall behind the latest trends of the times. General Manager Zhang, who has a long-term development vision, appointed Deputy General Manager Ding Jing, a senior engineer, as the plenipotentiary representative to fly to Shanghai to negotiate with Nick Bocher and ask him to help design the Golden Shield Building.

Ding Jing and his party shouldered a heavy burden and rushed to Shanghai after a long journey. As soon as I got off the plane, I contacted Mr. Nick Bocher's secretary and decided to meet in the conference room of the Silver Star Holiday Hotel that evening.

At 5 p.m., representatives from both parties arrived at the appointment on time and met by chance at the door of the hotel. The two parties exchanged greetings and entered the conference room on the 21st floor together. According to General Manager Zhang's explanation, Ding Jing introduced the current situation of the Golden Shield Building. She said: "The construction plan of the Golden Shield Building was designed seven or eight years ago. Its shape, appearance, facade, etc. are somewhat out of date. We are attracted by its reputation. Come and ask for your support and cooperation." Ding Jing introduced, while providing the relevant information for the preparation, such as photos, drawings of the construction site, the original design plan of the relevant domestic units, revised information, etc. to Nick Bocher's representative. . Nick Bochet registered "Bochet United Architectural Design Co., Ltd." in China, which is an international Class A architectural design company that has won many awards. After registering in Shanghai, Nick Bossie quickly established a foothold in the Shanghai construction market. However, except for Shanghai, most mainland markets have not yet developed in depth. Because of such a good opportunity, Nick Bocher was very interested in this project. They were collectively commissioned to design plans for the 8th floor and above of the Golden Shield Building.

It can be said that both parties are willing to cooperate. However, according to the entrustment requirements of a company in Chongqing, Boxie United Architectural Design Co., Ltd.'s quotation was 400,000 yuan, which was difficult for a company in Chongqing to accept. Bo Xie's reason is: Our company is a company that emphasizes quality and credibility and is famous in the world. It is natural that the price should be slightly higher. However, given the project costs in Chongqing and the actual situation in mainland China, this price is already the most favorable price.

According to Chongqing negotiator Ding Jing, the design price of Boxie United Architectural Design Co., Ltd. in Shanghai is US$6.5 per square meter.

If calculated based on this price, the design fee for 25,000 square meters of Chongqing Golden Shield Tower should be US$162,600. According to the foreign exchange rate on that day, it is converted into RMB 1.3695 million. Indeed, 400,000 yuan is the most favorable offer.

"The RMB 400,000 is calculated based on the design fee of RMB 16 per square meter, taking full consideration of the situation in mainland China." Nick Bocher said. However, considering the interests of the company, Ding Jing counter-offered: "200,000 yuan." The other party was surprised. Following the trend, Ding Jing explained: "Before coming to Shanghai, the general manager authorized us to sign a contract with a license of about 100,000 yuan. Our bid of 200,000 yuan has exceeded the scope of our rights. If we increase it further, we must ask the general manager in Chongqing for instructions. Manager." The two sides were at a stalemate, and Nick Bocher proposed a temporary adjournment.

The next night, that is, at 7 pm on July 26, the two parties sat down at the negotiating table again to discuss the ideas and concepts for the construction plan, and then talked about the price. This time Bo Xie United Architectural Design Co., Ltd. took the initiative to reduce the price from 400,000 yuan to 350,000 yuan, and repeatedly claimed: "This is the best price."

The Chongqing representative insisted: "It's too high and we can't accept it. After asking for instructions, the company agreed to pay 200,000 yuan, which cannot be higher. Please consider it again." The other representative muttered a few words and said, "In view of your actual situation and your company's According to the conditions, we will reduce the price by another 50,000 yuan, that is, 300,000 yuan. If the price is lower than this, we will launch it.”

A representative from Chongqing analyzed that the other party was reluctant to lose this opportunity to cooperate with our company. The other party may also lower the price. Therefore, Chongqing still insisted on bidding 200,000 yuan. After a while, the Bochet representative packed up his notebooks and other equipment, said nothing, and prepared to leave.

Seeing that the negotiations were once again at a deadlock, Engineer Jiang from Chongqing hurriedly said: "Please call our general manager. How about we wait for the general manager to make a decision and give us instructions?" Because Only with this suggestion did the tense atmosphere relax.

On July 27, Miss Dai from Boxie United Architectural Design Co., Ltd. got in touch with Manager Zhang. In fact, before that, Ding Jing had already had a phone call with General Manager Zhang to give a detailed report on the negotiation situation and her analysis and opinions on the negotiation. General Manager Zhang asked Ding Jing: "Neither humble nor arrogant, and be mentally balanced." So after Ms. Contemporary called General Manager Zhang, General Manager Zhang gave specific instructions.

Based on the quotations and counter-offers from both parties, Chongqing made another bid of 250,000 yuan. Boxie United Architectural Design Co., Ltd. basically agreed to this, but proposed that the drawings would not be submitted until September 10, which was lower than the original plan. Delayed for about two weeks. After negotiation, the two parties initialed the agreement that night. On July 28, a formal agreement was signed.

[Case Analysis]:

In this case, based on the introduction and analysis of the backgrounds of both parties, it can be seen that the negotiation was a sincere negotiation. In such negotiations, correctly identifying the deadlock in the negotiation is crucial to the success of the entire negotiation. It would be unwise to let the deadlock affect the conclusion of a cooperative relationship between the two parties.

Adjournment strategies and the use of mediators

Negotiations on the entire Golden Shield Building design program reached a deadlock twice around the negotiated price. The first time was the dispute between 400,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan. When the two sides reached an impasse, Nick Bossie proposed a temporary adjournment to relieve the excitement and tension. The second time was the dispute between 350,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan. When the two parties were deadlocked and the entire negotiation reached an impasse, Chief Engineer Jiang suggested that the other party call his own general manager. This is actually a typical use of a mediator to negotiate. To avoid deadlock, the mediator used here is someone within the company. It can be seen from the negotiations that the mediator's mediation effectively eased the tense atmosphere and brought the entire negotiation back to life.

and ideas, and then shift the topic to the sensitive price. This is actually an approach of avoiding the important and temporarily diverting attention. It is easy to reach consensus in these areas, which is also conducive to continued negotiations on price.

In reality, many sales negotiators often regard deadlock as a concept of failure and try to avoid it. Under the guidance of this kind of thinking, instead of taking active measures to alleviate it, they passively avoid it. Before the negotiation begins, pray that you can reach an agreement smoothly with the other party and complete the transaction without any surprises elsewhere. In this way, in order to avoid a deadlock, they will accommodate the other party in everything. Once a deadlock is reached, they will quickly lose confidence and patience, and even doubt their own judgment and waver in the pre-made plans, which hinders negotiations. People use negotiation strategies better, and the result of accommodation is to reach an agreement that is unfavorable to oneself. It can be seen that it is very important to correctly identify and deal with deadlocks in negotiations. The reason is very simple. Only by having the courage to face problems can we effectively solve them.

Part Three

Deal Signals for Sino-Japanese Agricultural Machinery Equipment Negotiations

Grasp yourself correctly, fully understand the other party, and use negotiation strategies and skills skillfully , negotiations will reach the other side of success.

In just a few decades after the war, Japan's economy has developed rapidly and it has become one of the world's economic powers. Due to the unique national characteristics of the Japanese and their long-term practice of loyalty in the process of economic development, Japan has grown into one of the few countries that is good at negotiation. Japanese businessmen, in particular, are practical, experienced, and well versed in the true meaning of negotiation. They have superb skills, changeable strategies, and are good at using various negotiation tactics to win their own interests. Therefore, the Japanese are known as the "Samurai of the Round Table." Faced with such "Round Table Knights", a Chinese company launched a unique competition and cooperation in Shanghai's famous International Building around imported agricultural machinery processing equipment. China also used extraordinary strategies and skills in this negotiation, making this negotiation a successful example.

In the preparation stage of the negotiations, both parties organized capable negotiation teams. In particular, the Chinese side, as the buyer, has made sufficient predictions about the international market conditions before the negotiation, has understood the changes and trends in the international market for this kind of agricultural machinery processing equipment, and at the same time formulated its own negotiation plan, thus providing the basis for the negotiation. Winning negotiations lays the foundation for success.

The first round of mutual testing

From the Japanese perspective, the first round of negotiations was just a "test balloon". Therefore, winning based on this is a fluke, while "failure" is inevitable. Because in deal negotiations, success is rarely achieved with the first offer. In this round of negotiations, the Japanese side tested China's hypocrisy and found out China's attitude. At the same time, it also understood the negotiating ability and style of the Chinese negotiator. From the Chinese perspective, at the beginning of the negotiation, it successfully used the other party's "building a high platform" method, which frustrated the other party's high goal requirements. At the same time, it also showed its strength to the other party and took the initiative in the negotiation. During this round of negotiations, the two parties exchanged information, deepened their understanding, and increased their confidence in the success of the negotiations. In this sense, the first round of negotiations was a success for both parties.

The second round of tug-of-war

After the second round of negotiations began, the two sides first talked for a while, adjusted their emotions, harmonized their feelings, and created a good atmosphere conducive to negotiations. After that, the Japanese side quoted again: "We asked the general manager for instructions, verified the cost, and agreed to reduce the price by 1 million yen."

At the same time, they exaggeratedly stated that the price reduction was not small, and they wanted China to make a "counteroffer." China believes that although Japan's price reduction is not small, it is still far from China's asking price, and it will be difficult to make a "counteroffer" immediately. Because "counteroffer" is to show the other party the price that one can accept.

When you don’t know how far the “moisture” of the other party’s quotation is from the actual selling price, it is easy to “counteroffer”, which can easily lead to passivity. If the price is too high, you will suffer a loss, and if the price is too low, you will only be able to defeat the other party. . China is not sure yet how much "counteroffer" is appropriate. For the sake of caution, the Chinese side contacted repeatedly by phone to verify the latest price of the product in the international market and analyzed the two Japanese quotations. According to analysis, although the Japanese side stated that this price was approved by the general manager, according to the situation, the price reduction was decided by the negotiators themselves.

The successful application of the Chinese transaction signal analysis strategy in the final transaction stage

The Japanese quotation still contains a lot of water and is very flexible. Based on this point, China determined the "counteroffer" price to be 7.5 million yen. The Japanese side immediately refused, believing that the price could not be closed. The Chinese side insisted that the time for bargaining had passed. Therefore, the Chinese side believed that the time for the final deal had come and it was time to show its strength and use negotiation skills.

So, the Chinese negotiator made a decisive move and solemnly pointed out to the other party: "For this introduction, we selected your company from several companies. This shows our sincerity in closing the deal." , although the price is a little lower than the price your company sells to country C, because the freight to the Shanghai port is lower than the freight to country C, the profit has not been reduced. In addition, you also know the foreign exchange policy of the relevant departments of our country. According to the regulations, we are only allowed to use this amount of foreign exchange in this transaction. If we want to increase it, we will have to wait and talk about it another day." This is a hard-to-get negotiation method that aims to show the other party that we are willing to accept it. Negotiations have lost interest in forcing concessions.

However, China still felt that this move was not powerful enough, and used a clever move similar to an "auction meeting" to push the other party into a position of competition with a "third party." The Chinese negotiator then said clearly: "Countries A and C are still waiting for our invitation." At this point, the Chinese negotiator revealed a trump card in his hand and leaked information to the other party just right. , transmit China’s foreign exchange use approval document and the telegrams from countries A and C to the Japanese negotiator. The Japanese side was greatly surprised when they saw it. Their determination to continue bargaining was destroyed, and they fell into the dilemma of having to "auction": either lower the price and make a deal with a handshake, or the negotiation fell through. The Japanese side repeatedly hesitated and settled the deal with a handshake, with little profit and loss. As expected, he gave up and returned to China, traveled across mountains and rivers, mobilized troops, and spent a lot of manpower, material and financial resources on his own. In the end, he returned empty-handed and could not explain to the company.

On the other hand, the Chinese negotiator used psychological knowledge and based on the rhetoric of "self-defense mechanism" to praise the Japanese side for being really smart and capable in this negotiation and having put in a lot of effort. However, it was limited to China's policy and could not be flexed any further. room. If Japan gives up this opportunity, China will have no choice but to choose products from countries A and C.

The Japanese side considered it again and again, and still believed that it could make a profit by closing the deal, and that it would only lose money if it "failed". This is as Benjamin Franklin's point of view shows, "The best outcome is to do the best deal that one's trading position allows. The worst outcome is to be too greedy. The deal failed to be concluded. As a result, the deal that was originally beneficial to both parties failed to be concluded."

[Case Analysis]:

Negotiations on agricultural machinery equipment from China and Japan, especially in the second round. During the negotiation, it can be clearly seen that both parties have used some skills of transaction signal analysis in negotiation, thus promoting the final agreement between the two parties. These skill points are concentrated in the following points.

Hints to express intention to close the deal

In the second round of negotiations, the Chinese negotiators’ use of hard-to-play and “auction fair” tactics were actually indirect expressions of the intention to close the deal. The use of strategies hints at certain facts, hints at one's intention to close the deal, and reminds both parties that if they do not sign now, they will miss good opportunities and cause losses.

Transmitting deal signals

It is conceivable that the Chinese negotiators have a firm stance, concise words, neither humble nor overbearing, and are calm and calm when using the expression of intention strategy. These attitudes and expressions of the Chinese side actually convey to The other party sent the deal signal, and the surprise of the Japanese negotiator reflected the anxiety and helplessness of the Japanese negotiator who received the deal signal but made little profit.

Opportunistic transaction method promotes transactions

When the Chinese side sends out a transaction signal and the other side receives a transaction signal and is in a dilemma, the Chinese negotiator first praises the other side's shrewdness and ability, and then explains the offer. It is limited to policy restrictions. This is actually a step for Japan to find a compromise. It can be said that China successfully grasped the right opportunity to facilitate the transaction and adopted the interest promotion strategy in transaction promotion to force the other party to conclude the transaction with some helplessness. As a result, the Chinese company gained more benefits for itself.

In sales negotiations, there is usually a situation where a negotiation takes a long time but makes little progress. However, due to some special reasons, many originally difficult problems are solved quickly at once. This is mainly due to the sales negotiator sending a signal that the negotiation is over. The party sending the signal is mainly trying to express its attitude towards the progress of the negotiation, push the other party not to be short-sighted and entangled on a few issues, and try to make the other party take action. , reach a compromise. Therefore, negotiation closing is to a large extent an art of mastering the heat, an art that requires sales negotiators to master proficiency.