BXBX NOVEL Chapter 500: Expert Negotiator
10am. Mo Ting arranged for the representatives from Switzerland to to stay in a hotel near Hai Rui. The 3 men and 2 women seemed a bit annoyed by the trip.
"Didn’t we already avoid having to work with Tang Corps? The CEO is currently missing, so there is no way to continue with our collaboration. There are plenty of big companies waiting to work with us, why did the Boss insist for us to come to Beijing?" one of the representatives said in a puzzled tone as he sat on the sofa.
"Did you think you are the only one that doesn’t understand? We had to come all the way to this hell hole, where even the air is hazy."
"Endure for a bit. We can leave after we meet with them."
They each tidied up their stuff and followed a hotel staff to one of the hotel’s meeting rooms. However, as they arrived, they did not see the CEO of Hai Rui nor did they see Tangning.
"What is this all about? Why isn’t a representative from Tang Corps here to greet us?"
"I’ve never seen a host arriving later than their guests. Is this Asian etiquette?"
They were already frustrated by the fact that they were sent to Beijing. Now, with the added fact that no one from Tang Corps had appeared to greet them, they couldn’t help their expressions from turning sour.
However, 5 minutes later, the door to the meeting room was pushed open. Tangning walked in wearing a black coat and flat shoes as she greeted the group of representatives in fluent Italian, "It’s a pleasure to meet all of you."
Out of the group of five, only one woman stood up to shake Tangning’s hand. Meanwhile, the remaining four, leaned back on the their chairs and glared at her, "Based on your attitude today, there is no way we will work with you."
"Let’s put business aside for now and have some food," Tangning maintained her smile as she turned and signaled to the waiter.
The representatives’ expressions did not change. But...as soon as the waiter brought in one dish at a time and placed it on the table in front of them, their eyes lit up in surprise.
"How did you know that I like to eat lasagna?"
"This is my favorite cookie to go with coffee..."
"This..."
The party of five were surprised that Tangning knew what they all liked. In fact, some of this information, they had never shared with the people around them.
Seeing this, one of the representatives finally revealed an interested smile and crossed his arms as he asked, "Can I ask, how did you find out what we liked?"
"I’ve looked at your profiles. Some of this food was written down - others I guessed," Tangning smiled. "For example, the lady beside you doesn’t seem to like drinking water."
The woman that Tangning was pointing to, nodded her head, "That’s right! How did you know?"
"That’s a secret. Feel free to give this food a taste and we can chat about it afterwards," Tangning deliberately kept them guessing as she held onto their curiosity. As they really wanted to hear Tangning’s response, they forgot about their previous frustrations and started trying the food that was prepared for them.
Tangning lowered her head and smiled, but she only drank water the entire time.
Half an hour later, everyone finished their meals. At this time, the man called Jean put down the knife and fork in his hands and said to Tangning, "Although we are very thankful for your hospitality, we have already decided to cancel the collaboration with Tang Corps. We simply flew over this time to show Hai Rui some face."
"It’s fine, I won’t force you. But, I have some statistics that you might be interested in." After speaking, Tangning gestured for Song Yanshu to distribute the information to the five people seated at the table.
"This is the sales performance for Tang Corps in the final month of last year. The second document is the product that Tang Corps intends to promote in Europe. From our research, we have found that Europeans have been fascinated in Chinese medicine in recent years, but no one has invested into that market. Tang Corps has always been a leader in the perfume industry and have always given preference to our partner companies...We are planning to invest into this new market, and we would like to give you the opportunity to be at the forefront."
The representatives looked at the information in their hands and threw it to one side, "There are plenty of big companies that have given better offers than you. Plus, Miss Tang, do you even understand perfume?"
"What if I add on one year of free endorsement?" Tangning offered, "As a model, I am quite famous in Europe..."
The people around the table froze in surprise as they looked Tangning up and down. At this time, someone suddenly realized, "You’re the famous Asian supermodel, Tangning?"
"I wouldn’t consider myself a supermodel..."
"So you are the new CEO of Tang Corps?" their opinion of her began to change.
"Yes."
"I thought you looked familiar. So, you’re Tangning, the legendary Asian model. The model that ignited the Oriental Trend in the US and walked multiple high-class runways in Europe," one of the female representatives started getting excited, "You’re amazing, we’ve heard a lot about you."
"Thank you," Tangning remained modest.
"But you still need to answer our questions, do you understand perfume?" Jean insisted on getting an answer.
"I don’t understand perfume, but I know how to help you achieve the most rewarding return," Tangning replied straightforwardly.
After hearing this, the representative finally smiled, "I like your honesty. Compared to those that only know how to talk business, you are definitely a lot more likeable."
"That’s because I can read people’s minds and that’s how I know what you all like. Do you believe me?" Tangning placed both hands on the table and raised her chin as she spoke.
"In that case, what do you think I’m thinking right now?" Jean asked with an interested smile.
Tangning looked at Jean in seriousness and replied sincerely, "You’re wondering how you can resume the collaboration with Tang Corps."
Jean looked at Tangning in surprise and clapped his hands.
"What about me? What about me?"
Tangning looked at the young woman opposite her and replied, "You’re wondering if you can have another platter of cookies."
"How did you know?" the woman asked in surprise.
"Because you just whispered to your colleague a moment ago and asked if you could get more."
The woman was shocked by Tangning’s thoughtfulness as she raised a thumb at her.
Because of everything that happened, Jean finally said to Tangning, "Let’s work together."
Tangning shrugged her shoulders.
"Miss Tang, you have displayed to us your detailed observational skills because you wanted to convince us, right? I must admit that you’ve succeeded. You are an expert negotiator!" Jean praised. "Your personality and charisma has convinced me that our collaboration will be a success."
Tangning smiled as she stretched out her hand and shook hands with Jean. After finding out that Tangning was Mo Ting’s wife as well as a famous supermodel, he realized the value that Tangning and Tang Corps had. He simply needed to find a reasonable excuse to resume their cooperation.
"I’m really happy to have received your praise. As for the contract, please make your way to Tang Corps this afternoon to sign it. However, due to reasons related to work, I may not be able to greet you there. Please forgive me."
"It’s OK, that’s fine. Do what you need to do," Jean said politely.
Of course, they had no idea that they were about to witness a good show.