Negotiating a contract can be a complex and challenging task, especially when there are multiple parties and interests involved. To achieve a successful outcome, you need a negotiation team that is well-prepared, aligned, and effective. But how do you build such a team? Here are some key factors to consider.
The first step is to identify the roles and responsibilities of each team member. You should have a clear leader who sets the objectives, communicates the strategy, and makes the final decisions. You should also have a support team that provides research, analysis, and advice on various aspects of the contract. Depending on the context and scope of the negotiation, you may also need experts, advisors, or consultants who can offer specialized knowledge or skills. Make sure everyone understands their role and expectations, and avoid overlapping or conflicting responsibilities.
Be clear and organised. That will provide predictability for the team and the predictability will provide psychological safety. And, when we feel psychological safety, we agree to spend our resources in order to create results (accomplish the task/attend the objectives). So, in order to be clear, 1. Define clear objectives for the team; 2. Define clear roles for every member of the team; 3. Take clear, precises notes on who did good and how; share them with the team. Take notes, also, on the failures and do not share them with the team; 4. Take very clear notes on what did you learn from the points above! Doing those points you will be organised also. After, repeat! Continually repeat in order to improve! Good luck!????
Running a negotiation with a team of subject matter expert members is a systematic method of dealing with highly technical issues, but there needs also to be a key person managing the wider context of the negotiation so that cross disciplinary issues and knockon effects can be fully accounted for in both analysis of positions and in developing cohesive arguments.
To build a successful negotiation team, focus on these key factors: Diverse Expertise: Include members with varied skills like strategic thinking, financial analysis, and effective communication. Clear Goals: Ensure everyone understands the team's objectives. Defined Roles: Assign specific responsibilities based on individual strengths. Preparation: Emphasize thorough research and readiness. Communication Proficiency: Prioritize strong verbal and non-verbal communication abilities. Emotional Intelligence: Include members capable of managing emotions and building rapport. Adaptability: Have team members ready to adjust strategies as needed. Stakeholder Insight: Understand the needs and constraints of the other party.
My POV on this is to study the customer first and seek to understand everyone's strengths and weaknesses prior to assigning the R&R. Once you understand each team members super powers then it's time to determine their specific roles & responsibility prior to entering the negotiation. With all of that in place determine who will lead and guide the conversation / negotiation. Understand that persons verbal and none verbal ques. Have a specific game plan on who, what and how each person should respond. Ensure you all are tasked with listening and most importantly show empathy and understanding for the customer. No hard selling.
In my experience, first you need to select your team and you need to have diverse skilset in your team depending on your subject matter.
The next step is to choose the right people for each role. You should look for team members who have relevant experience, expertise, and skills for the negotiation. You should also consider their personality, communication style, and attitude. You want team members who are confident, cooperative, and adaptable, and who can handle pressure, uncertainty, and conflict. Avoid team members who are arrogant, aggressive, or defensive, and who may damage the relationship with the other party or create internal tension.
You want diversity on your negotiating team. Having different races, sexes, genders, ages, etc. on your team will assist you in approaching the negotiation from different perspectives, coming up with unique ideas, and ultimately lead to a wider selection of options to choose from in order to get the best result.
1. The key positions from the organisational perspective shall attend the meeting. If we are talking about a project, the project manager shall lead the negotiation. 2. All stakeholders need to participate in the negotiation. If we are talking about a software, the relevant engineer shall attend the meeting. If we want to interpret the contractual obligations and rights, an in-house legal counsel or the contract manager shall attend the meeting. Therefore in order to have a constructive meetings, all relevant stakeholders shall attend or at least be in the loop. 3. Regarding the attitude, if you have the right and the other party is bullying you, you should be firm. But if the negotiation is going with a reasonable pace, logic will rule.
The third step is to train the team members on the negotiation process, techniques, and tools. You should provide them with the necessary information, resources, and guidance to prepare for the negotiation. You should also conduct mock negotiations, simulations, or role-plays to practice the skills and scenarios they may encounter. You should also give feedback, coaching, and support to help them improve their performance and confidence. Training the team members will help them develop their competence, consistency, and credibility.
Training team members should happen even before negotiations commence. Negotiation is very much a skill that improves with practice and real life application.
The fourth step is to align the team members on the goals, priorities, and boundaries of the negotiation. You should establish a common vision, mission, and values for the team, and ensure that everyone agrees on the desired outcome, the best alternatives, and the walk-away point. You should also define the criteria, standards, and indicators for evaluating the offers and concessions. Aligning the team members will help them avoid confusion, disagreement, or divergence during the negotiation.
I've often found that in B2B SaaS negotiations, the Sales team lobs the contract over to the Legal team without prior review and are mostly checked out of the negotiation process. That's a huge, missed opportunity. I prefer to get onto an alignment call ahead of any live negotiation with the AE and have them share the context behind certain legal terms and why the counterparty is pushing for something. I have them explain the overall tenor of the deal - a deal that's at risk requires a very different approach. Having the sales person engaged and aligned during the negotiation call can be tremendously helpful.
Alignment occurs after training. Training will reveal what works and what doesn't, as well as what needs improvement. During the alignment phase, you can set clear goals based on mock negotiations and/or simulations. Keep in mind that alignment also requires flexibility. Just because one goal made sense before the training does not mean that it will be a useful goal now. Alignment ultimately solidifies the team's interaction, approach, and unity when going into a negotiation. It deserves patience, openness, and feasible standards.
Being aligned internally is primordial. Priorities shall be defined by top management within the hierarchy of the company. Risks shall be identified clearly. Some times there is a risk of going into a litigation therefore in this case after indemnifying the risks, the priority shall be defined. You have to have as many as meetings to be aligned internally in order to not show any contradictory signs before the other party. All scenarios shall be predicted and all members of the team shall be aware of consequences of each direction.
A business contract is the company's contract. So, there will necessarily be several points of view to take into account - for example, engineering, after-sales support, quality, commercial, legal, and so on. The more complex the business activity, the more important the alignment between the negotiation team members, and it is this alignment, not only before negotiation starts but also between each round of contract negotiation, that will provide insights into the negotiation alternatives. As the negotiation process goes on, the alternatives and the walk-away points may change, so alignment should be rechecked after each round of negotiation.
No tip speaks to me more than aligning the team. It is so important to be on the same page as a team. This fosters progress in so many unthinkable ways. It's also important to cross- check that team members are aligned to the overall goal/ objective every now and then by asking questions and just simply checking in with them.
The fifth step is to coordinate the team members during the negotiation. You should have a clear plan, agenda, and timeline for the negotiation, and assign tasks and roles to each team member. You should also have a communication system, protocol, and channel for the team, and ensure that everyone is informed, updated, and consulted throughout the process. You should also monitor, review, and adjust the team's performance and strategy as the negotiation progresses. Coordinating the team members will help them work together efficiently, effectively, and flexibly.
Make sure everyone on the team knows their role during the negotiation. Have a plan, keep everyone updated, and adjust as needed. This helps the team work well together.
The final step is to celebrate the team members after the negotiation. You should acknowledge, appreciate, and reward the team's efforts, achievements, and contributions. You should also debrief, reflect, and learn from the team's strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. You should also maintain, nurture, and strengthen the team's relationships, trust, and morale. Celebrating the team members will help them feel valued, motivated, and satisfied.
Failed negotiations and deals we walk away from are sometimes even more important than the ones that are completed. These failed negotiations are sometimes more important than successfully closed deals in helping a business reflect and understand minimum thresholds and values for collaboration.
This part is always ignored. Unfortunately due to the high workload at companies, employees don’t have time to celebrate good negotiations. But it’s important to value the employees who have worked hard and well and who played their roles.
Remember that the negotiation is the beginning of the business relationship and that you must start as you mean to go on. Make sure that your agreement covers things you both care about, that your process is professional, cordial, and clear, and that everyone knows their relationship roles once the contract is signed. And be prepared: Markets, regulations, or business practices may change, so make your your team is aware of these and ready for any amendments or renegotiation that may be needed.
In my experience, building a successful negotiating team requires setting clear objectives for the negotiation. What does the team want to achieve? Is there more than one desirable outcome? How does the team best work together to achieve that objective? Ensure that every member of the team understands the desired outcome of the negotiation (and their individual role in achieving that outcome), so that efforts remain focussed and on track.