Closing Contract Negotiation

In a perfect world, the first draft of a contract would be acceptable to both parties, and life would resume with singing and dancing and no one would ever enter into a legal dispute. Unfortunately, however, this is not how life works, and contract negotiation is a part of everyone businessperson’s career. The trick is not to avoid contract negotiation, but to know how to do it effectively, which includes a fast and painless closing to contract negotiation.

Closing Contract Negotiation Tip #1: Stress the Positive Points

Reminding the other party of the benefits of the proposed contract will help put a positive spin on the deal itself, thereby lessening the chances of extensive negotiation. If you can consistently stress the positive points for the other party, they will see that they are getting a good deal and will sign faster.

Closing Contract Negotiation Tip #2: Make One or Two Concessions

Face it: you aren’t going to get everything you want. But you can control what you get and what you lose by deciding in advance which negotiations to which you will concede. For example, if you know that the other party is going to contest the price, and you don’t mind lowering it, get that out of the way first. The more you concede right from the start, the faster you’ll close the contract negotiation.

Closing Contract Negotiation Tip #3: Prepare for Surprises

A long-used but quite unattractive negotiating technique is to agree to a contract, then spring changes at the last moment, hoping that the other party will concede. Don’t allow anyone to take advantage of you. Taking an amiable – yet firm – position for the very beginning will discourage this practice, and if you insist upon sticking to the original deal, you’ll close the contract negotiation much faster.

Closing Contract Negotiation Tip #4: Call it a ‘Courtesy’

If you are in the business of providing services, then you probably have a standard contract that you use for all of your clients. When you submit your contract to your client, explain that it is your standard agreement. If they come back and express the desire to negotiate, say something along the lines of, “Well, this is our standard contract, but as a professional courtesy, I’d be happy to hear your suggestions for negotiation”. This immediately establishes that you do not have to negotiate, but that you’ll be happy to hear them out. This will probably keep their suggestion list short.

Closing Contract Negotiation Tip #5: Send a Thank-You Card

When you have finished the negotiations, send the client or business associate a thank-you card. This will show that you are appreciative of their business, and will probably make future negotiations less painful.