This case particularly resonates with me because it highlights the problems that arise when two individuals have reference points which do not overlap. An impasse was reached between myself (VP of operations for Les Florets) and the Restaurant owner and this was primarily due to the fact that we both had reference points with a ceiling which we felt we could not exceed.
Going into this negotiation as the VP of operations my goal was to primarily succeed in buying the restaurant. Prior to starting the negotiation, i identified several certain non monetary concessions that could be made to sweeten the deal such as paying a percentage of travel expenses, and also allowing the restaurant owner to remain as a manager provided he takes a shorter leave of absence (6 months), or retaining him as a paid consultant . I also identified my reservation price as being 160,000 Euros which was the maximum amount given to me by my bosses to offer to the restaurant owner. I established that it was important to discover why the owner wanted to sell as this would enable me to know what negotiation tactic to apply .
At the beginning of the negotiations, I initially controlled negotiations, I said that Les Florets was more interested in keeping him as manager even when they bought the restaurant and immediately proposed if he would be interested in remaining as manager after he sold the place while pleasantly asking why he wanted to sell the restaurant. The restaurant owner didn't reveal much asides that he and his wife just wanted a break and a change of scenery . After this I proposed an amount of 130,000euros while adding the concessions of the managerial post and the desire to pay for travel expenses for a set duration and offering him access to the restaurants for the first few months of the trip. During negotiation I focused more on the add- ons than the restaurant sale price itself which the owner seemed more interested in and