Sally Soprano Negotiation Reflection 1) Was your preparation useful? If yes, how so? - The preparation done came to be very useful whilst carrying out my negotiation. This was primarily because it aided in keeping me on the right train of thought throughout the negotiation, especially when new revelations about the opposing sides circumstances of willingness or reservations came up in the duration of the negotiation. It helped me actively stay on the right course whilst also actively be able to come up with new potential deals to fit the new circumstances by having a constant reminder of my own core interests, no negotiation deals, BATNA’s, VNI’S and initial reservation values, as well as theirs. 2) What unexpected occurred, if anything, during this negotiation? - An unexpected occurrence that had happened in my negotiation was the speed and ease that the deal was able to be made. Role A was able to be very agreeable and accommodating to my terms and initial offering. I expected a lot more conflict and potential impasse throughout the discussions however it all went very smoothly and had no real friction at any points of the negotiation. 3) What did you find difficult (if anything) about conducting this negotiation? - I did not find anything truly difficult per se. One thing that was a bit awkward to get used to at first was knowing at what point and how to pivot from building honest rapport and conversing with my partner to getting started with the negotiation and getting down to business. I found though that this is one of the soft skills that I feel will get easier with time and with the more negotiations I carry out throughout this course and throughout my career in the future. 4) Were you satisfied with the outcome of your negotiation? If so, explain why. If not, explain why not. - I was personally very satisfied with the outcome of the negotiation, with the terms agreed but also with the fact that my partner was also pleased with his side of the deal which aids in feeling content with the outcome of the deal and not having any feelings of guilt as if I had made an unfair deal which the other side was not happy with, especially considering that a long term relationship was something that my role was interested in and considering/ was part of the final deal that was agreed upon. The mutual satisfaction is something that will only benefit both sides if another negotiating situation arises or re-negotiating is required. Speaking purely about the terms agreed though, I feel very happy with the agreed terms as we were under the supplied budget by $15k, this was however hindered by the revelation post negotiation that role a did not even require any payment at all for them to take the role in the opera. 5) What impact, if any, did your negotiation style and the negotiation style of your partner have with the outcome of your negotiation? - I was not aware of my negotiating style at the time, and neither was my partners. 6) If you had to do this negotiation again, what would you do differently? Why? - I would ask them what they are interested in and looking for first before making my baseline offering first, as this could have led to my realisation that they did not require any payment at all as all they required was exposure for their desire to be on Television. 7) What did you learn from doing this negotiation, If anything? Details on each possible learning point - Building rapport aids greatly in the overall outcome of the negotiating and the willingness for the other side to be cooperative and compromising to come to a mutually beneficial deals - Don’t show all your cards from the get-go – I was too eager to get the lowest reasonable rate (from my perspective) across to them and get an agreement or something a little higher/ lower and get a deal sorted, when if I had been more cautious and allowed them to tell me more about their situation I could have found out the reality of their circumstances which was that they would have done it for free and just needed the exposure - Ensure the specifics that are beneficial/ detrimental to you are agreed upon, but specifics that could save your resources or time can be left vague unless they request otherwise – by ensuring that the specific amount paid to the artist and when they will be paid was all agreed upon allowed me and my organisation to know what to expect and be prepared to make such payments etc. However by being vague on what marketing and how much of it will be produced with Sally Soprano on the forefront, and the agreement only stating ‘more marketing with Sally as the centre piece at the forefront’ and the opposing side not requesting specifics such as 200 flyers advertising her as the star or 10 posters around the building advertising her, etc, it left all the specifics up to me and the company to decide, until/if they decide to want to renegotiate or figure out the terms further. 8) Identify two provisions that you found particularly interesting, innovative or creative. Describe the provision and why you selected that provision. Then select what interests you believe the provision serves and who benefits from it. - One provision that I found particularly creative was the deal which involved Sally providing mentoring lessons for free along with her salary to the other less experienced/ advanced performers. This was both low cost and high (positive) impact with it allowing for long term gains for the company with their performers gaining years of lessons and experience through Sally for very low cost. It would also be selfrewarding for Sally as it would satisfy her interest of feeding her own Ego by having other performers looking up to her for guidance and teaching. - A similarly low cost and high impact creative deal that I saw was putting in a good word for Sally at the TV production Studio as our organisation has good relations with them. This would aid sally in her aspirations to get into the TV industry and satisfy her interests of potential self-actualisation by fulfilling her aspirations to grow her career into the TV business.
