MSc Marketing students were presented with a slice of a real life recently when they took part in a business simulation which truly put their negotiation skills to the test. This simulation forms an integral part of the B2B module of the MSc Marketing programme and aims to put the students in a situation which they are likely to encounter in their future careers by recreating the pressures of price negotiation, bargaining and tight deadlines.

The students split into 4 groups, with players destined to either sell or purchase a printing machine. With emphasis placed on time keeping, the students were informed of their situation and the demands they had to make less than 24 hours before the final negotiation, allowing little time to prepare a winning strategy.  The negotiation itself concentrated on the discussion of the value of the printer would bring to the company and on the final price.  One of the objectives behind this B2B game was to allow the students to understand the processes behind such negotiation situations, e.g. understanding the value created to the company that wants to buy a product and the setting up of a coherent pricing policy.

Christophe Langlais, an MSc Marketing student who participated in the game, described the scenario as: A tough experience! It was close to reality and it gave us an idea of the tension that can exist in such situation.