by Beck Rowland
As the translator finished, Cheng licked his lips with the tip of his tongue. One of the finance guys drummed his finger on the table, while the other fidgeted with a pen. Zenaida realized they were nervous, and decided that meant they were probably telling the truth. ZhongRevo really didn’t want a long, ugly fight over the domain. They were scared Zenaida would get greedy, reject their new offer, and leave them no choice.
Zenaida saw the fear and thought it was a good thing. She held her silence and nodded for the ZhongRevo team to continue. Instead, Hunter tapped Zenaida on her shoulder and slid over a document. As she looked it over, Hunter introduced the new ZhongRevo offer.
“ZhongRevo are prepared to make a lump sum payment of forty million dollars USD, in exchange for all rights and ownership of the ZRWG dot com domain,” he said.
Forty million dollars. The words reverberated in Zenaida’s mind.
Looking back on the moment, Zenaida would never understand how she possessed the willpower and fortitude to hold her silence. It took every ounce of her self control to appear calm, collected and neutral in that moment. As she replayed the words over and over again-- forty million dollars-- an enormous tidal wave of excitement, delight and sheer, utter relief rushed through her. Her heart thudded, her mouth went dry, and her face suddenly felt hot and flushed. Zenaida thought she might faint.
Somehow, Zenaida maintained the cool exterior facade. Her face showed only polite interest-- perhaps even a hint of boredom. The ZhongRevo team looked positively tortured. Their eyes pored over Zenaida, desperate for any hint as to her thinking. Even Hunter, officially a neutral party in the negotiation, looked a little nervous.
Zenaida made a show of reading through the document. She confirmed the monetary amount, then verified the terms and conditions. She was a quick reader, but she drew it out for effect. It would be good to make them suffer a few minutes longer. The moment stretched on.
“You should accept, Zenaida. That isn’t me trying to close a quick deal. It’s my honest advice,” Hunter finally whispered.
He slid her a pen. Zenaida looked at the pen, then glanced at Hunter. She looked across at the ZhongRevo team. A single bead of sweat trickled down Cheng’s forehead. Cheng licked his lips again.
BizWiz_99 Negotiation Tip 3: Do What They Don’t Expect. Keep Them Off Guard.
Everyone always assumed other people thought and acted the way they did. The ZhongRevo team were smart, ruthless business operators, so they naturally expected the negotiations to be difficult. They assumed Zenaida would play the same kind of hardball they would in her shoes.
Instead, Zenaida smiled, then turned to the translator.
“Tell them that I accept,” she said. Zenaida saw an invisible tension dissipate from the ZhongRevo team. She realized they had all understood her English. When the translator explained what Zenaida had said in Chinese, they nodded and smiled in relief.
Zenaida picked up Hunter’s pen and signed the contract, then filled in her account information for the wire transfer. Hunter signed in the signature space next to her, then slid the document over to the ZhongRevo team. Each member of the team signed in turn, then used a small seal to stamp their approval on the document. Hunter produced several more papers, which Zenaida quickly read and signed.
Cheng broke into a broad grin, now speaking in passable English.
“Thank you Miss Zenaida. At last, the ZRWG domain is home with ZhongRevo,” he said. “And congratulations to you. Your actions nearly derailed our entire eShopping initiative, not to mention my career, and yet... I find myself admiring you.”
“It’s true,” Lili Fang spoke. Her English was sharp and clear, with a faint British accent. “For somebody of-- pardon me, no particular business pedigree-- to have turned a $1.99 investment into a forty million dollar payday is nothing short of remarkable.”
Zenaida smiled, still somewhat dazed. It still didn’t feel real.
“You listed Silverwater Finance as your financial institution. Payment is being routed there as we speak,” Hunter said. “Before we conclude the meeting, please call your bank and confirm your receipt of the funds.”
Zenaida pulled out her cracked cell phone, ignoring the look of mild surprise on Lili Fang’s face. She had to use the voice-recognition function to make the call. Hunter gestured for Zenaida to put the phone on the table, so she set it to speaker and slid it to the middle of the conference table.
The Silverwater teller picked up on the first ring. Zenaida immediately recognized her from the earlier call about overdraft fees. Zenaida introduced herself and provided her account number.
“Oh,” the teller said when she recognized Zenaida’s voice. The amount of contempt squeezed into that single syllable was impressive. “Good Morning Ma’am. What seems to be the problem today?”
“I’m expecting a payment and need to confirm that it hit my account. Could you please check if I have any inbound transactions?” Zenaida asked, shouting a little to be heard. There was a pause before the teller responded.
“Excuse me for one moment Ma’am,” the teller said. And then the telltale rustle as the teller covered the phone with her hand. Zenaida-- and everybody at the conference table-- could faintly hear the teller whisper to her colleague. “I think she just got her paycheck and she’s calling like, right away. I bet she’s waiting for her account to update so she can afford lunch!”
As the faint, tinny laughter drifted from the phone, Zenaida felt her face burn. It would be bad enough dealing with this on a regular phone call, but being laughed at before an entire room of well-dressed business people was unbearable. Zenaida stole an embarrassed glance at Lili Fang. A perfectly vertical wrinkle had appeared between the woman’s manicured eyebrows. Her lip was drawn into a tight, narrow line.
“Ma’am,” Fang barked at the phone. That single word carried an air of command, spoken from someone used to unquestioning obedience. There was a sudden rushed shuffle, and Zenaida knew the teller was back on the phone.
Fang continued without waiting for a response. “This is Lili Fang, Chief Legal Counsel of ZhongRevo Corporation, accompanied by our eShopping Director, Chief Finance Manager, and Lead Accountant for North American Operations. We have successfully concluded an important business negotiation with Miss Zenaida Ruiz, who is accompanied by her Escrow executive Mr. Richard Hunter and a translator. We require immediate confirmation of fund delivery to Zenaida’s account. Are you authorized to verify inbound transactions?”
There was a long moment of silence on the phone. Zenaida was just wondering if the teller had dropped the phone and fled when a small voice drifted across the table.
“Yes Ma’am,” the Silverwater teller practically whispered. This time, Ma’am wasn’t spoken with an air of sarcastic disdain, but in a humbled, timid voice. “Checking inbound transactions right away.”
Lili Fang sat back in her chair, satisfied. Zenaida met her eyes across the table and gave Fang a tiny nod of appreciation. The lawyer returned a small, subtle smile.
“Inbound transaction confirmed for Zenaida Ruiz,” the teller said. “Fund delivery to the sum of... what? That can’t be right... forty... million dollars?”
Zenaida smiled, then leaned over the table towards the phone. She cupped one ear theatrically.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Could you please confirm the amount in my account again?” Zenaida asked. It was childish, but she was enjoying herself.
“Your updated account balance is... forty million dollars,” the teller said. Zenaida could faintly hear stunned exclamations and loud murmurs in the background of the call.
“Thank you. That will be all” Zenaida said. Then she hung up.
The ZhongRevo team were shuffling their papers and preparing to leave, and Hunter was already pulling out his phone to check his next appointment. Zenaida cleared her throat loudly.
“Hunter,” she said in a deliberately loud voice. “Now that I’m a multi-millionaire-- that feels so weird to say,
and even weirder that it’s true-- I would like to spend a little money. There’s something I want to buy, right now, before everybody leaves.”
Lili Fang stopped sliding papers into her briefcase, and Cheng froze with a glass of water halfway to his mouth. Hunter gave a small, curious smile. He raised one eyebrow.
“And what might that be?” he asked. Suddenly the room was quiet again.
BizWiz_99 Negotiation Tip 4: If Everybody is Focused on the Big Goal, Consider Side Options. Are There Fringe Benefits You Can Get Out of the Deal?
“I would like to purchase your services as an Escrow Agent,” Zenaida announced. “Verbal contract, same rates and terms as the contract we just concluded, but with myself as primary client.”
The ZhongRevo team looked at Hunter, who could only give a confused shrug in return. “Alright, I accept,” he said. “What sort of transaction am I facilitating?”
Zenaida took a deep breath, then looked around the room. All eyes were on her. She motioned for the ZhongRevo team to sit back down.
“Although ZhongRevo now have the ZRWG dot com domain, I would like Hunter to serve as my intermediary in negotiating another offer,” Zenaida explained. “During my preparations for this meeting, I also purchased the rights to ZRWG dot Org, dot Net, dot CN, dot... well, basically every domain extension you can think of.”
Cheng started speaking in rushed, furious Chinese, but before the interpreter could speak, Zenaida held up a finger for silence.
“I have also registered ZRWG social media profiles-- Peeper, Snapshot, even Sina and Weibo in China,” Zenaida said. “Hunter, please tell ZhongRevo I am open to their best offer.”
Registering those sites had meant even more debt on her already overloaded credit card, but what was another few bucks on top the six figures she already owed? There was another burst of angry Chinese from Cheng, then the Chief Accountant and Finance Manager joined in. The interpreter jotted down notes, then abruptly stopped writing and began arguing with the ZhongRevo team. For several minutes, the conference room was filled with loud, intelligible bickering. Finally, Lili Fang slammed a fist onto the table, making everybody jump.
“The interpreter is refusing to repeat what my colleagues wish to say to you. The language is rather offensive,” she explained to Zenaida. “The essence is this: although you have done very well to secure an enormous payday for yourself, you have become like a snake trying to eat an elephant.”
“What does that mean?” Zenaida asked.
“Your greed has led you to an unrealistic goal. We needed the ZRWG dot com domain, but ZRWG dot net or dot org are entirely worthless. The social media profiles too-- you’ve completely overshot. We won’t be making you any further offers,” Fang said. She looked more disappointed than angry.
BizWiz_99 Negotiation Tip 5: Always Have A Backup. What You Can’t Get From One Party May be Possible with Another.
“I understand,” Zenaida said calmly, then turned to Hunter. “If my research is correct, ZhongRevo is currently engaged in a long, nasty corporate power struggle with their primary business rival, ShangShang Industries Limited. Apparently ZhongRevo planted fake media reports claiming ShangShang using faulty components, and ShangShang has been dying for a chance to get revenge ever since. I can’t blame them; I understand just how upsetting false accusations can be.”
And now the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The interpreter looked from Zenaida to the ZhongRevo team. The expression on their faces made it clear her interpretation was entirely unnecessary.
“I’ve read the same reports. Go on,” Hunter said quietly.
“I also recall reading that the ShangShang Industries CEO is stateside for this entire week. Please call his people. Tell them I’m selling a dozen domains and social media accounts related to ZhongRevo’s new eShopping platform. Perhaps he would be interested to make an offer.”
The other side of the table exploded in a cacophony of Chinese-- with some occasional English-- profanity mixed in. Zenaida gave the ZhongRevo suits a calm smile. With forty million already secure in her bank account, the pressure was mostly off. Anything she was able to score from now on was simply the cherry on top.
Hunter pulled out his cell phone and retreated to a quiet corner of the office. The ZhongRevo team stared daggers at Zenaida while they waited. Hunter returned several minutes later.
“ShangShang is prepared to offer eleven million for everything,” Hunter said. “They say... well, they say they will use those digital properties to utterly ruin the ZRWG brand name before the platform even gets off the ground.”
Another explosive outburst from ZhongRevo. Cheng’s face grew red as he yelled, spittle dotting the table in front of him. One of the finance guys had developed an angry tic beneath his left eye. His fists were tightly clenched as he spew an unending stream of curses. Lili Fang stared at Zenaida as if she were some new, fascinatingly foul species of insect.
“Calm down, please,” Zenaida said. She held up a hand for quiet. “Hunter, I would like to give our guests from ZhongRevo one last opportunity to secure these domains and profiles. Please call ShangShang back and put them on speaker. A live auction, time-limited to five minutes, seems the fairest way to proceed.”
“Understood,” Hunter confirmed, already dialing. He placed the phone in the middle of the conference table.
The ShangShang Industries team had some choice words of their own once Hunter explained the terms of the auction. As Hunter began a five minute countdown, ShangShang immediately upped their initial offer to twelve million. ZhongRevo countered with twelve-point-one. ShangShang returned with twelve-point-three. ZhongRevo replied with twelve-point-five.
Zenaida knew the bitter corporate rivals would fight this way, using tiny, gradual increments, each hoping to wear out the other’s patience. It was boardroom-style siege warfare. That was why Zenaida had instituted the time limit. When the auction entered its final minute, things would heat up. That’s when the offers and counter-offers would grow by leaps and bounds.
Zenaida turned to the window, enjoying the expansive city view as she waited. The sun peeked out from behind a large cloud, promising pleasant afternoon weather. The morning’s rain had cleansed the thin, semi-permanent layer of grime from the city, and the surrounding skyscrapers glittered like shards of glass. Zenaida watched as an airplane drew a glowing contrail across the clear blue sky.
Her mind wandered, and Zenaida was deep in thought when Hunter tapped her on the shoulder. The auction had concluded without her noticing. The ShangShang participants were already dropping off.
“Congratulations Miss Ruiz,” Hunter said, shaking her hand. “The ZhongRevo team made the highest final offer: fifteen million dollars, payable immediately. My people are working up the papers now. The additional funds will hit your account within the hour.”
“Thank you Hunter,” Zenaida smiled. “Wow, that means a total of... fifty-five million dollars! Not bad for a day’s work.” She laughed, quietly at first, then louder. Zenaida felt like she would never be able to stop laughing. She thought she would explode from delight.
Until now, her life had been a fixed path that started and ended below the poverty line. Now, Zenaida felt the world opening up before her. Fifty-five million dollars was a fortune. It offered a staggering, dizzying amount of freedom. She could do virtually anything.
Zenaida made a mental note to give BizWiz_99’s video a five-star rating.
Cheng stormed out immediately after signing the paperwork, closely followed by the finance guys and the translator. They did not bid her farewell or exchange handshakes. Lili Fang lingered long enough to give Zenaida a long, appraising gaze.
“Cheng will probably lose his job over this,” she said. “And rightfully so, perhaps. I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody quite like you before. What will you do next? I imagine your life will change quite dramatically from this point forward.”
“I don’t know. It still doesn’t fee
l real,” Zenaida said. She shot out her hand. “No hard feelings?”
“None whatsoever,” Fang said. She shook Zenaida’s hand and smiled. “Being on the receiving end of a corporate ass kicking is seldom this interesting an experience. Goodbye Miss Ruiz.”
Zenaida was alone in the room with Hunter, who was looking at her with unabashed curiosity. She could read another emotion on his face too, although she couldn’t imagine why it should be there. She thought it might be something like fatherly concern.
“Long negotiations always leave me famished. I’m hungry, are you?” Hunter asked.
“I could eat,” Zenaida admitted.
“Fancy some tacos? There’s a great spot right around the corner.”
“Sure. My treat,” Zenaida said with a smile. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to treat anybody to anything.
The tacos were incredible. Zenaida wasn’t sure if it was the tacos themselves, her hunger, or the fact that she was now worth fifty-five million dollars. Just thinking the words made the world seemed brighter, more colorful and vibrant. Zenaida felt like she was mildly stoned. She was a multi-millionaire. She repeated it to herself: multi-millionaire. Zenaida smiled again.
Hunter polished off his tacos quickly, dabbing the corner of his mouth with a folded napkin. Zenaida marveled at the man’s ability to make the act of eating a corner shop taco look somehow posh.
“How do you feel?” Hunter asked, reclining in his chair. Zenaida washed down the last mouthful of her taco with a sip of Sprite and considered.
“Happy. Really, really happy,” she said. Then she paused. “A little scared, maybe.”
“You should be,” Hunter said. “I started off as poor as you. Perhaps even poorer. Today I am worth just north of ten million dollars. But do you know what I did twenty years ago, way back after making my first successful million dollar deal?”
“Celebrated with a taco lunch?” Zenaida asked. Hunter smiled and shook his head.
