You’ve probably experienced the following situation:
After weeks/ months of talking with your supplier/ customer you believe you’ve reached an agreement on the business terms of the deal. You (or the other side) introduce the contract to your supplier/ customer.
Both sides bring in their lawyers to negotiate the contract Ts & Cs. As soon as the lawyers become involved, well – you know what happens. The lawyers take control of the contract, frequently focusing on issues you’ve never discussed. The parties often lose sight of major deal terms and much of your efforts seem to go down the drain.
Sometimes, negotiations become contentious making contract finalization a painful process.
Remember the following:
- You have to understand your contract terms and your company’s reasons (almost always economic) behind them;
- You should NEVER give your standard contract to the other side without modifying it to reflect your deal terms;
- If you hand over the contract to your lawyers, we lawyers will take control of it (Little known fact: We really don’t want to, however)
- If you expanded your discussions with your supplier/ customer to include real world “worst case” scenarios, you would be addressing the “legal” issues that are generally left to the lawyer to discuss.
QUESTION:
Who would you rather have those discussions?
- The Lawyer whose goal is to prevail in court?
OR
- You – the business person – who can discuss with the other side your concerns using real world examples and how to avoid, minimize or resolve that problem before, or if, it occurs?
REGISTER for the WEBINAR on Strategies for Negotiating Contract Ts & Cs.
I know that you will gain tools that will help you expedite contract signing and valuable insight into discussing important contract points with your supplier/ customer and working with your stakeholders and legal department.