A Masterclass provided at International Women's Day 2019 at UTS by Dr Silvia Pfeiffer, CEO Coviu Global

1. Masterclass on Negotiation Skills
Dr Silvia Pfeiffer
CEO
March 8, 2019
0401-384-041
silvia@coviu.com

2. Who am I anyway?
Dr Silvia Pfeiffer, CEO
• PhD Computer Science, Computer vision
• Repeat Entrepreneur: 2nd Startup
• W3C Editor of HTML5 video standards, IETF RFCs
• Author of 2 books on HTML5 video, 1 one telehealth
• Former CSIRO researcher, Mozilla, Google, Vquence
2

4. When are you
negotiating?

5. What are key
properties of a
negotiation?

6. What
outcomes do
we want to
avoid?

7. After Mississippi legalizes riverboat gambling in the late
1980s/early 1990s, entrepreneur approaches farmer to buy land for
casino development.
From: Subramanian, Taking BATNA to the Next Level, Negotiation (Nov. 2006)
NEGOTIATION EXAMPLE

8. From: Subramanian, Taking BATNA to the Next Level, Negotiation (Nov. 2006)
Farmer & Entrepreneur Negotiation
Farmer Entrepreneur

9. Before meeting, the farmer hires an agriculture professor to
estimate the value of the land.
The agriculture professor conducts soil tests and estimates cash
flows to conclude that the land is worth ~ $3.0 million.
From: Subramanian, Taking BATNA to the Next Level, Negotiation (Nov. 2006)
Farmer Information

10. Before meeting, the entrepreneur analyses the market for casinos.
He concluded he could make $2.5M annually while only spending
$500K to set it up.
He’s considering a return of investment within 6 years.
From: Subramanian, Taking BATNA to the Next Level, Negotiation (Nov. 2006)
Entrepreneur Information

11. Components
Preparation
1
Negotiation
2
Close
3

12. Starting off: “I’m confident that we’ll be able to find an agreement that
works for both our organizations.”
“Let’s try to figure out how to create the most value here,
and also make sure that each of us gets a fair piece of the
pie.”
At the table: “It sounds like what’s most important to you in this
negotiation is…”
“Tell me more about…”
“If we …, then would you be willing to…”
Closing the deal: “What if we…”
“Help me understand how you got to that proposal.”
“Since we seem to be at an impasse, is there some process
we can agree to that can help us get to an objectively fair
resolution?”
What Effective Negotiations Sound Like

13. From: Subramanian, Taking BATNA to the Next Level, Negotiation (Nov. 2006)
Farmer & Entrepreneur Negotiation
Farmer Entrepreneur

14. 1. Preparation

16. How to
prepare for a
negotiation?

17. BATNA =
Best Alternative To a
Negotiated Agreement
When stuck, who has the
best alternative – that’s
where the power lies.

20. A BATNA Illustration
$1M $14M
$3M $1M

21. After Mississippi legalizes riverboat gambling in the late
1980s/early 1990s, entrepreneur approaches farmer to buy land for
casino development.
Before meeting, farmer hires an agriculture professor to estimate
the value of the land.
Agriculture professor conducts soil tests and estimates cash flows
to conclude that the land is worth ~ $3.0 million.
In the negotiation, farmer (luckily) keeps quiet – first offer from
entrepreneur is $7.0 million.
Farmer negotiates further and eventually reaches a deal at $8.5
million.
From: Subramanian, Taking BATNA to the Next Level, Negotiation (Nov. 2006)
A BATNA Illustration

22. 2. Negotiation

24. How to behave
in a
negotiation?

25. How not to
behave in a
negotiation?

26. 3. Closing

28. How do you
conclude a
negotiation?

29. Summary

30. Silvia’s
Practical Tips
DO YOUR DUE
DILIGENCE
ALWAYS HAVE
ANOTHER ACE UP
YOUR SLEEVE
NEVER JUST AGREE –
BARTER
ALWAYS TARGET A
WIN-WIN
KNOW YOUR LIMITS KNOW THE PROCESS

32. Negotiate
how you date
Don’t expect marriage at first sight.

33. Thank You
Questions?
DrSilvia Pfeiffer
CEO Coviu
silvia@coviu.com
@CoviuApp
@silviapfeiffer