MANAGING NEGOTIATIONS ASSIGNMENT

OUT OF CLASSROOM
NEGOTIATION

SUPRAGYA SAURABH
PGDIM 23 ‘C’
1602207
NITIE MUMBAI
ATTEMPT 1 – K3 SNACKS, POWAI

Methodology:

I ordered a Bhel Puri at this snack joint which retails at Rs. 70/-. As my bill was being prepared, I asked
the cashier if I could purchase this at 60/-. To this, he point-blank refused. I then explained to him that
this is all the cash I have, if he could make this one concession since his margins on the dish are going to
be much higher than Rs. 10. He told me that he will be able to find a willing customer who’d pay the full
amount and thus he isn’t in a position to negotiate detrimentally to his earnings.

Were you successful in negotiating?

No.

How did you feel at the end of the negotiation?

I felt that I could have planned better. In order to execute a successful negotiation, I had to find
someone who didn’t have the easy access to paying customers. This led me to my second attempt.

ATTEMPT 2 – PANI PURI VENDOR, HIRANANDANI, POWAI

Methodology:

This time, I realized that in order to negotiate successfully, I also need to serve some purpose for the
opposite party, and not just get my end met. From my last attempt, I’d also understood that
negotiation will be more likely to be successful if the opposite party is more desperate to make the sale.

So I identified a pani puri vendor who had no customers at the point of time when I approached him,
and asked him for the rate of a plate (he said it’s Rs. 15 for 6 pieces). I told him I wanted to eat 12 pieces
but I don’t have the money for 2 plates – instead, I will pay Rs. 25. I explained to him that he’ll be
making more sale than for one plate and will still be earning a profit, just that the margin won’t be that
much. To this, he agreed.

Were you successful in negotiating?

To some extent, since I got him to agree to be paid Rs. 5 less than what I should have paid him.

How did you feel at the end of the negotiation?

Very full (these 2 plates of pani puri were in addition to one humongous plate of bhel from the earlier
attempt). But since I was feeling a little bad for mugging the poor vendor off, I pretended to discover
Rs. 5 in my pocket and paid him the balance amount in the end anyway. (I got 2 sukha puris as bonus!).