商务英语谈判课本.docx

商务英语谈判课本.docx

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商务英语谈判课本

ChapterFourContentofNegotiation（I）

Anyoneengagedinforeigntradeknowsthatnegotiationisaveryimportantcomponentininternationalbusinessactivities.Asfarasinternationalinvestment,importandexportofproducts,machineryandequipmentareconcerned,negotiationoninternationalbusinessandeconomyisaconsultativeprocessbetweengovernments,tradeorganizations,multinationalenterprisesorprivatefirms.Inshort,itisaprocessbetweenthebuyersandthesellers,sonegotiationisoneoftheimportantstepstakentowardcompletingimportandexporttradeagreements.

4.1InquiryandReply

Ininternationalbusinessactivities,makinginquiryistheinitialstageofbusinessnegotiationbetweenthebuyersandsellers,thepurposeofwhichistoseekasupplyofproducts,serviceorrelativeinformation.

Usually,thebuyersmakeinquirieswithoutanyengagementtogetinformationaboutthegoodstobeordered.Thesellers,however,canalsomakeinquiriestogetinformationaboutthegoodstosold,withoutanyengagement,too.

Theinformationwantedbythebuyersorthesellersusuallyincludesthefollowingelements:

Thesupplyofcommodities;

Theprice;

Thecatalogue;

Thepackaging;

Thedeliverydate;

Termsofpaymentandothertermsconcerned.

Inquirycanbemadeorallyorinwrittenform.

Ifthewrittenformisadopted,thepersonwhomakesinquiriesshouldremembertoconsidercarefullytowhichtheinquiriesaretobesentandhowmanysuppliesorpurchasesaretobeapproachedinoneandthesameregion.Failuretotakeintoconsiderationtherelevantsituationwouldleadtoadverseeffectonfuturetransactions.

Whenwritingenquiryletterstoyourcounterpart,thereisonneedtochoosewordsandphrasescarefullytodrawthereaders’attention.Arequestforapricelistorcataloguecanbemadeinasinglesentence.Arequestforaquotationofpriceandothertradetermsmayneedalittlelongerdescription,whichshouldbeclearandexact.Butrememberthereisnoneedforlong,over-politephrasesandstilllesshumbleness.

Ifitisthefirsttransactionbetweenthepartiesconcerned,thefirstenquirylettershouldbeginbytellingthereceiverhowhisnameandaddressisknown.Then,somegenerallyinformationaboutyourownbusiness,suchasthekindofgoodshandled,quantitiesneededortobesold,usualtermsoftradeandanyinformationlikelytoenablethesuppliersorthebuyerstodecidewhattheycandoforyou,shouldbegiven.

Havingreceivedtheenquiryletter,thereceivershouldstudyitwithcautionandreplytheenquiryletterassoonaspossible,tellingthemwhetheryoucouldsellorbuy.

Ifinoralform,especiallywhenthebusinessrelationshavebeenestablishedbetweenthebuyersandsellers,theinquiriesandreplieswillbeveryeasyandsimple.Whatshouldbepaidattentiontoisthatbothofthemmayhaveafriendlyandcordialdiscussionaccordingtowhathasbeenmentioned.

4.2OfferandCounter-offer

Inmanytypesofbusiness,ithasalwaysbeenthepracticeforthesuppliertomakeanofferdirectlytohisregularcustomersandtootherswhomaybeinterestedinhisgoods,withoutwaitingforanenquiry.Butwhenthesupplierhasreceivedanenquiryfromthebuyeranddecidetosellthegoods,heshouldmakeanoffertohim.

Itshouldbepointedoutthatofferisdifferentfromquotation.Quotationisjustanindicationofpricewithoutcontractualobligation,anditissubjecttochangewithoutpreviousnotice.Wehavelearnedthataproposalforconcludingacontractaddressedtooneormorespecificpersonsconstitutesanofferifitissufficientlydefiniteandindicatestheintentionoftheofferertobeboundincaseofacceptance.Soofferisadefinitecommitmentonthepartofthesupplier.

Inbusinessactivities,whenmakinganoffer,orallyorinwrittenform,thefollowingelementsareusuallyincluded:

Thename,price,qualityandquantityofthegoods;

Thedateofdeliveryand/ortimeofshipment;

Thetermsofpayment;

Thevalidityoftheoffer;

Othertermsconcerned,suchaspacking,discount,insurance,etc.

Whenasupplierpromisestosellthegoodsatastatedpricewithinastatedperiodoftime,theoffermadebyhimiscalledafirmoffer.Inmakingafirmoffer,mentionshouldbemadeofthetimeofshipmentandthedateofdelivery,themodeofpaymentdesiredandtheperiodforwhichtheofferisvalid.Inaddition,anexactdescriptionofthegoodsshouldbegiven.Ifpossible,patternorsampleshouldbeshownorsent.

Itshouldbenotedthatafirmoffer,althoughnotlegallybinding,iscapableofacceptance,andonceithasbeenacceptableitcannotbewithdrawnandtheofferershouldperformtheobligationsstipulatedinit.

Itisknownthatareplytoanofferwhichpurportstobeanacceptancebutcontainsadditions,limitationsorothermodificationsisarejectionoftheofferandconstitutesacounter-offer.So,acounter-offermeansapartialrejectionoftheoriginaloffer,anditalsomeansacounterproposalputforwardbythebuyersortheofferee.

Inpracticalbusinessnegotiations,thebuyersmaynotagreeontheprice,packing,shipmentorpayment,etc.Hemaystatehisowntermsinstead.Suchalterationsindicatethatbusinesshastobenegotiatedonarenewedbasis.Suchbeingthecase,theoriginaloffererorthesellernowbecomestheoffereeandisentitledtoacceptofrefuse.Inthelattercase,hemaymakeanothercounter-offerofhisown.Thisprocesscangoonformanyarounduntilthetransactionisconcludedorcalledoff.

Sometimes,thesentence“Acceptyouroffersubjecttothefollowingalterations……”maybeusedinansweringanoffer.Althoughtheword“accept”isused,infact,theofferisstillrejected,becausetheoffereedoesnotagreetothewholeoffer.

Inmakingacounter-offer,thepartyconcernedshouldexpressregretatinabilitytoaccept,explainreasonsfornon-acceptanceandsuggestthattheremaybeotheropportunitiestodobusinesstogetherinthefuture.

4.3PriceandPlacingorders

Itisknowntoallofusthatprice,whichshouldbecarefullyconsidered,isoneofthemostimportantfactorsintheinternationalbusinessactivities.

Priceisthemoneyofotherconsiderationsexchangedfortheownershiporuseofaproductorservice.Theproducts’priceincludesfixedcost,variablecostandexpectedprofit.Thefixedcostandvariablecostofexportproducts,however,meansthetotalfigureofproductioncost,sellingcost,deliverycost,taxesandtariffsandsomeotherunknowncosts.

Inanytransactions,thebuyerwantstobuycheapandthesellerwantstoselldear.Inordertogettheexpectedtarget,thebuyerorthesellershouldknowthepricingstrategiesandotherfactorswhichcaninfluencetheprice.

Astothepricingstrategies,therearethreebasictechniquesofpricingexportproducts,whichcanbeindicatedasfollows:

Cost-pluspricing;

Marginalcostpricing;

Breakevenpricing;

Besideswhathavebeenmentionedabove,theinternationalandexternalfactorswhichcanaffectpricingshouldbenoted.

Internationalfactorsinclude:

Marketingobjectives;

Marketingmixstrategies;

Costs;

Externalfactorsinclude:

Themarketanddemand;

Competitors’pricesandoffers;

Ininternationalbusinessnegotiation,becausehagglingisacommonoccurrence,thebuyerorthesellershouldnotignorethefollowingitems,whichcanalsoaffectpricing:

Fluctuationsofthecurrencyusedinthetransaction;

Termsofpayment;

Dateofdelivery;

Packaging,etc;

Everyoneknowsthatnegotiatingpriceisaskillneedingnervesofcalm.Oncegiventhefactorsaffectingprices,thebuyerorthesellerisnowreadytoselectaworkableprice.Inanycase,thepricewillhavetobesomewherebetweenonethatistoolowtoproduceaprofitandonethatistoohightoresultinanydemand.

Inbusinessdiscussion,evenwhenthebuyerhasanadvantageovertheseller,becauseofoverproduction,etc.,andisaccordinglyabletodictateterms,suchasloweringtheprice,quickeningdeliverydateandsoon,heshouldconsidereverythingonthe“you”attitudeandgivethereasonableprice.Ofcourse,whenthesellerhasanadvantageoverthebuyer,thesameattitudeshouldbeadopted.

Havingfinishednegotiationpricebetweenthebuyerandtheseller,theformermayplaceanordertothelatterforgoodsneededonthepriceagreeduponbetweenthem.Oncetheorderhasbeenacceptedbytheseller,apurchasecontractshouldbesinged.Afterthat,bothpartiesarelegallyboundtocarryouttheiragreement.

Whenthebindingagreementcomesintoforce,thebuyer’sobligationsare:

toacceptthegoodssupplied,providedthattheycomplywiththetermsoforder;

topayforthemaccordingtothetermsagreedupon;

tocheckthegoodsassoonaspossible（failuretogivepromptnoticeoffaultstothesellerwillbetakenasacceptanceofthegoods）;

Whenthebindingagreementcomesintoforce,theseller’sobligationsare:

todeliverthegoodsexactlyofthekindordered,andattheagreedtime;

toguaranteethatthegoodstobesuppliedarefreefromfaults,ofwhichthebuyercouldnotbeawareatthetimeofpurchase.

Accordingtocommerciallaw,iffaultygoodsaredelivered,thebuyercandemandeitherareductioninprice,orreplacementofthegoods,orcancellationoftheorder.Hemayalsobeabletoclaimdamages.

ChapterFiveContentofNegotiation（Ⅱ）

5.1Packaging包装

Itisknownthatpackingisanotherimportantelementwhichshouldbepayattentiontobythebuyersandthesellerwhennegotiatinganytransactions,becauseneitherofthemliketohavethegoodsshippedorreceivedinadamagedcondition.Itisappropriatepackingthatcouldpreventorminimizethedamageofthegoodsa