China purchasing managers are negotiating successfully for better deal terms. The lucky ones are going for more advantageous terms in future negotiations — but a few are learning to give bad news about deals that were negotiated in the past.
Right now, the power balance is in your favor. Smart purchasing managers, however, will take [...]
Category Archives: Negotiating with Westerners
China Purchasing Managers – Renegotiating Deal Terms in a Recession
December 3, 2008 – 3:01 am
Chinese Purchasers and 3 Types of Western Suppliers
November 18, 2008 – 2:16 am
Purchasing managers in China can expect to meet up with 3 kinds of overseas suppliers. Some know China well and have good experience operating here. Others are new to China, and don’t know much about doing business here – but they know it. This is a great opportunity for building a solid relationship and securing [...]
Two Views on Negotiating with Clients
November 13, 2008 – 1:27 am
I ran a seminar on negotiations at a big MNC in Shanghai yesterday. The participants were a mix of Chinese and European managers and salespeople who all had a great deal of experience, and are very high-level in terms of skills and authority within the company.
One of my main points was this:
“Don’t continue negotiating with [...]
China Negotiating Basics – Setting LIM (Like, Intend, Must) priorities
November 3, 2008 – 3:31 am
Chinese negotiators usually have a pretty good idea about what they want from a business negotiation. Just make sure you don’t put yourself at a disadvantage by A) not having a systematic set of priorities, and B) keeping those priorities too secret for too long. The basic framework for setting negotiation priorities is the LIM. [...]
Chinese Negotiating Counterparties and the Generation Gap
October 22, 2008 – 2:07 am
More and more Chinese negotiators are sitting down with westerners who are investigating China for the first time — since their own home markets are having so much trouble. Unfortunately, when westerners do research about negotiating in China they are usually reading about ‘old-school’ Chinese negotiators who are now in the 50’s or 60’s. They [...]
Chinese negotiatiors need to know what your business is — and what it isn’t.
October 13, 2008 – 4:55 am
I was recently attending a Young Entrepreneurs networking event in Shanghai. Now, it’s a while since I could accurately be described as a Young Entrepreneur – I’m really more like a middle-aged business owner. But I like to drop by these things every once in a while to stay in touch with what’s happening in [...]
Connections and Guangxi — Do foreign investors understand the value?
October 13, 2008 – 4:54 am
Dear Smart Shanghai Team -
I am the owner of a company in the Shanghai area, and am looking for a foreign JV partner to help me expand my factory. During my negotiations with one US investor, I told him that my company had a tremendous advantage – NO COMPETITION. I have personal connections with the [...]
