Price Rises - How to Get it Wrong

I was in my mid-twenties and had secured my biggest-ever negotiated deal to date, with a major international computer supplier. The deal was worth £3-4 million over a number of years. I was delighted with the deal, with the presentation we had made. I was particularly delighted with the warm relationships we had developed with the buying team. I was especially pleased too to have developed what I thought was a warm strategic relationship with the head of buying for Europe.

The work went well until, one fateful day following a price hike from our suppliers, we wrote to inform our customer that there was going to be an unavoidable price rise, to be put in force one month from now. By return I got the strongest letter imaginable from my favoured Head of Buying Europe. In it he put an immediate stop to all new business. He made it clear there was no way that they would tolerate this price rise. He equally made it clear that he felt he had been dealt with in a very shoddy manner.

He demanded to see me personally, and quickly. He was a shrewd and wise negotiator. When I went to see him he was his usual kindly self and we did agree a price rise eventually, although you don't need me to tell you that my aspirations were more than a little dented, and I did not achieve my target figure.

How should I have done it differently? Easy! I should have gently prepared the way with press articles, e-zines, and so on, to show the reality of global price increases with this market, these materials, etc. I should then have arranged a meeting to discuss urgently together how we could minimise the impact of these global trends. I should have researched, rehearsed and prepared, with my ideal outcome clearly in my head.



How to Negotiate Effectively
How to Negotiate Effectively (Creating Success)
ISBN: 0749448202
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 111
Authors: David Oliver

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