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Negotiation is the art of arriving at a compromise on a subject to the satisfaction of the parties involved. Negotiation can take place between two people or several people. Negotiations can also happen between different firms or companies. Negotiations can take place in the presence of the parties involved. It can also take place over the phone or in writing. As the people involved are trying to arrive at a solution to suit their needs, a compromise is evolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties involved. Business negotiations could involve purchases, sales, loans, contracts or anything regarding business.

Negotiation requires a lot of practice and experience. Some people are masters in the art of negotiation. One should be confident and persistent during a negotiation but never abrasive. Application of gentle persistent pressure will see the other party concede and you get your result.

Be on guard against standard terms being portrayed as concessions by the seller. If you want a regular supply over long periods, you can use this as a bargaining tool. If the supplier is unwilling to reduce the price, you can ask for better payment terms or delivery.

Don’t put all the cards on the table initially. For example if you want to purchase a large quantity of material over a long period, you can mention a small quantity over a short period and get the price. Keep increasing is the quantity that you would purchase and negotiate the price for that quantity. You would finally get the material at the lowest possible price. If you are the supplier’s main customer, don’t use this as a leverage to get the prices down beyond reasonable levels. Remember that the supplier has to exist and make reasonable profit to survive. Building trust is extremely important such cases.

Mr. Donglin Liu works with an American fitness equipment supplier in Beijing, and Ralph Peterson is Manager in Sales Department in Sprit Treadmill Ltd.

Liu： I’m interested in a couple of items in your new catalog, and I would like to know the prices.

Peterson： Great. We’re offering a special promotional price on a few of the items. Which items did you have in mind?

Liu： We’re particularly interested in your new Sprit Z700 Treadmill on page five of your catalog. I would also like more details about the model IN400 on page seven.

Peterson： OK. The price on the Z700 is $2 099.99 for quantities up to three units. Then we offer quantity discounts for larger orders.

Peterson： The IN400 is one of our promotional items this month. For orders received by the end of the month, the price is $ 1 399.99. That price is good on any size order.

Liu： That price sounds good. Could you send me more details about IN400, including the specifications?

Peterson： Certainly. I can fax or E-mail that information to you this afternoon.

Liu： Terrific. I’ll get back to you after I’ve reviewed the details. Thank you. Good-bye.

Liu： I’d like to get the ball rolling by talking about prices on Z700 Model.

Peterson： Shoot. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Liu： Your products are very good. But I’m a little worried about the prices you’re asking.

Peterson： You think we are asking for more? (Laughs)

Liu： (chuckles) That’s not exactly what I had in mind. I know your research costs are high, but what I’d like is a 25% discount.

Peterson： That seems to be a little high, Mr. Liu. I don’t know how we can make a profit with those numbers.

Liu： Please, Ralph, call me Donglin. (Pause) Well, if we promise future business—volume sales—that will slash your costs for making your products, right?

Peterson： Yes, but it’s hard to see how you can place such large orders. How could you turn over so many? (Pause) We’d need a guarantee of future business, not just a promise.

Liu： We said we wanted twenty pieces of Z700 over a six-month period. What if we place orders for twelve months, with a guarantee?

Peterson： If you can guarantee that on paper, I think we can discuss this further. Even with volume sales, our quotes for the Z700 Model won’t go down much.

Liu： Just what are you proposing?

Peterson： We could take a cut on the price. But 25% would slash our profit margin. We suggest a compromise—15%.

Peterson： That’s a big change from 25! 15 is beyond my negotiating

Peterson： I don’t think I can change it right now. Why don’t we talk again tomorrow?

Liu： Sure. I must talk to my office anyway. I hope we can find some common ground on this.

Liu： Ralph, I’ve been instructed to reject the numbers you proposed; but we can try to come up with some thing else.

Peterson： I hope so, Donglin. My instructions are to negotiate hard on this deal—but I’m trying very hard to reach some middle ground.

Liu： I understand. We propose a structured deal. For the first six months, we get a discount of 20%, and the next six months we get 25%.

Peterson： Donglin, I can’t bring those numbers back to my office—they’ll turn it down flat.

Peterson： How about 15% the first six months, and the second six months at 20%, with a guarantee of units you order?

Peterson： It’s about the best we can do.(pause) We need to hammer something out today. If I go back empty-handed, I may be coming back to you soon to ask for a job. (Smiles)

Peterson： OK. Let’s iron out the remaining details. When do you want to take delivery?

Liu： I can agree to that. Well, if there’s nothing else, I think we’ve settled everything.

Peterson： Ralph, this deal promises big returns for both sides. Let’s hope it’s the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship.

Peterson： I faxed the offer you made to my head office yesterday. The head office thought the price was unacceptable. I think both of us need to move further to make an agreement.

Peterson： We are very pleased that you are very keen to do business with us. But our costs have risen greatly, as I mentioned earlier. What we can do is to keep the discount at 15% the first six months, and the second six months at 20%. I’m sure our product will find a ready market in your area at such a low price.

Peterson： Let me put it this way. If you insist on 18% for the first six months, 22% for the second, we would spread delivery over a period of time, is that OK?

Peterson： Would you make sure that payment will reach us 30 days before each shipment

Liu： Yes, it is. Thank you and we will place more orders in the future. http://sl.iciba.com/thread-29-1.shtml

1. We’re offering a special promotional price on a few of the items. 有几件产品我们正以特价促销。promotional price 意为“推销价格”。

2. Then we offer quantity discounts for larger orders. 对较大的订单我们有数量折扣。quantity discounts：数量折扣（批量作价），是企业对大量购买产品的顾客给予的一种减价优惠。一般购买量越多，折扣也越大，以鼓励顾客增加购买量，或集中向一家企业购买，或提前购买。尽管数量折扣使产品价格下降，单位产品利润减少，但销量的增加、销售速度的加快，使企业的资金周转次数增加了，流通费用下降了，产品成本降低了，导致企业总盈利水平上升，对企业来说利大于弊。

3. Could you send me more details about IN400, including the specifications? 关于IN400产品您能否提供给我更详细的情况，包括产品规格。specifications：产品规格，是指对产品特定形式的描述。

4. I’ll get back to you after I’ve reviewed the details. 我看过这些详情情况后我会反馈给你的。

5. I’d like to get the ball rolling by talking about prices on Z700 Model.我想一开始就谈Z700款产品的价格。get the ball rolling 意为“开始……”，主要用于“建议开始某项工作”。短语中的get 可以用start 或set 代替，如： He started the ball rolling by presenting his idea during the meeting. 开会时他先起了头，介绍了自己的想法。

6. shoot意为“说吧，（让某人把话说出来）请讲”。口语化的表达方式。

7. Well, if we promise future business—volume sales—that will slash your costs for making your products, right? 如果我们向你们承诺未来的商业业务——（大笔交易），这对你们生产产品来说，将会大大降低成本，对不对？volume sales 意为“大笔交易，量贩销售”。例如，Well, in a nutshell, we feel we should be rewarded for volume sales. 好吧，简言之，我方公司认为我们应该享有大量购买的折扣。slash 动词，意为“削减”。

8. How could you turn over so many?你们如何销售完这么多？turn over 意为“营业额达……”，例如，They turn over a million dollars a year. 他们一年的营业额是一百万美元。

9. We could take a cut on the price. But 25% would slash our profit margin. We suggest a compromise—15%. 们可以降低价格，但是七五折会减少我们的利润率。我们建议一个折中价—八五折。take a cut on the price意为“降低（削减）价格”。profit margin意为“利润率”，是指净利润占销售收入的百分比。该指标反映每一元销售收入带来的净利润的多少，表示销售收入的收益水平。compromise意为“妥协、折中”。

10. I hope we can find some common ground on this. 但愿我们在这一点上能够达成共识。Find some common ground 意为“找到共同的理由”。

11. My instructions are to negotiate hard on this deal—but I’m trying very hard to reach some middle ground. 在这笔交易中，我的谈判立场很坚定，但是我仍然努力试图想让我们双方都妥协。reach some middle ground 意为“折衷协调”，例如，Your demand is too high, but if we can reach some middle ground we might have a deal.你的要求太高了，不过，如果我们能达成折衷，或许可以成交。

12. I can’t bring those numbers back to my office—they’ll turn it downflat. 我可不能把这个价格转达给我们老板，这肯定是要打回票的。turn it down flat 意为“断然拒绝”。

13. We need to hammer something out today. 我们需要今天就把这件事敲定了。hammer something out 意为“经过深入讨论得出结论；仔细设计出”，例如，The capitalist tried to hammer out an agreement with workers on overtime pay. 资方煞费苦心设法和工人达成了一项加班工资的协议。

14. Let’s iron out the remaining details. 我们来解决一下剩余的细节问题吧。iron out 意为“消除（困难）等”，例如，It will take weeks to get all the wrinkles iron out. 解决这些难题得要几周时间。

15. We’d like you to execute the first order by the 31st. 我们希望你们能在本月31号给第一批订单发货。execute the order 意为“履行订单”。类似表达还有execute an order, carry out an order, fulfil an order等。

16. Let me run through this again： the first shipment for 20 units, to be delivered in 27 days, by the 31st. 让我对此在进行一下确定，第一批订单是20件货，27天内发货，31号是截止日期。run through意为“从头到尾浏览”。例如，I’ll just run through this list of figures.我要把这份数字表很快看一遍。

17. We are very pleased that you are very keen to do business with us.我们非常高兴贵公司很乐意与我们合作。Keen to do sth.意为“渴望做某事”。例如，The boy is keen to go to sea. 这孩子很想去航海。

1) Your products are very good. But I’m a little worried about the prices you’re asking.

3) I’m sure our product will find a ready market in your area at such a low price.

3. Concluding conversations on price negotiation

1) I’ll get back to you after I’ve reviewed the details.

2) I must talk to my office anyway. I hope we can find some common ground on this.

3) This deal promises big returns for both sides. Let’s hope it’s the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship.

1. Translate the following into English orally.

1) 我知道你有话和我说，那就说吧！

2) 你也知道最近几年生产的成品大幅度上涨而我们的产品价格基本不变。

3) 我们针对几项产品提供特价。

4) 长期的经验使他们能制订出一个正确和切实的方案。

5) 很高兴我们谈成了这笔生意，希望接下来我们可以继续合作。

2. Translate the following into Chinese orally.

1) Let us meet tomorrow to iron out any difficulties in the final agreement.

2) In order to help you develop business in this line, we may consider making some concessions in your price.

3) After-tax profit margin is the ratio of net income to net sales.

4) It would be impossible for us to push any sales at such high prices as your price is much higher than those offered by other suppliers.

5) Our products, which have good qualities, have found a good market in many countries. So you must take quality into consideration, too.

3. Topics for discussion

1) How would you respond when a negotiation on price is stuck there?

2) When would you make a concession on price and why?

3) Is wining a business deal or developing a business relationship coming first in business negotiation? Please analyze this issue from the perspective of intercultural business communication.

Find a partner and act the following roles according to the situation described： Situation： Mr. /Ms Beaman is talking with Mr. /Ms Li about issues

You are Mr. /Ms Beaman, General Manager of the Far-East Industry Corporation of America. You adjust the price to attract Mr. /Ms Li to place a larger order so as to make a quick turnover by reducing prices.

1) Introduce further concessions you will make for more order.

2) Emphasize the quality of your products in the world market.

3) Introduce new lines of business, along with the business you are

You are Mr./Ms Li, purchasing manager of Feige Electronic & Technology Co., Ltd of China. Your job is to

1) Accept the good quality of products you have got from your business partner.

2) State the need for further price reduction after researching the markets and other suppliers.

3) Demonstrate expectation of future business cooperation.

Negotiating for purchase

It is extremely important to formulate a strategy before starting any negotiation. And you should adhere to this strategy during the negotiations. Before trying to buy anything you should make a study of the product or service and its value in the market. You should study the availability of the product from different sources. This will give you a very good insight to negotiate its price. You should also decide on the best price you can offer a particular product and try to negotiate for a price below this. During the negotiation one should be very confident and never reveal the real position or the maximum price at which he is prepared to buy the product. One should pose as if he is prepared to walkout if the price is not to his satisfaction. You should not hesitate to offer a price that is far below the price at which the product is offered. Some people hesitate to do this because they lack confidence. One should also study the body language of the seller. It is possible that the seller lowers his guard at some point during the negotiation. This is the time; you clinch the deal at the best possible price.

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