Reaching agreement.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH BEFORE NEGOTIATING
What you need from the arrangement What you can offer What you will not concede What your alternative is if it fails
WHY THE ALTERNATIVE MATTERS
It determines how much you can accept.
WHAT TO UNDERSTAND
What the other party actually wants.
HOW
Ask, and listen.
WHY
Assumed motives produce proposals that miss what matters to them.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Where interests genuinely overlap.
WHAT TO AVOID
Agreeing on the intention and leaving the detail Verbal understandings Beginning work before terms are settled
WHY THAT LAST POINT
Once work has begun, the negotiating position is lost.
WHAT TO ADDRESS EXPLICITLY
Money and how it is calculated Who owns customers What happens if it does not work What each party may not do
WHY THE FAILURE SCENARIO
Discussing it while relations are good is far easier than afterwards.
WHAT TO BE CAUTIOUS OF
Pressure to commit quickly Reluctance to document Terms that are entirely one-sided Assurances that written terms will not be enforced
WHY THAT LAST POINT
Whatever is written is what applies.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
That the written agreement reflects what was actually agreed.
WHAT TO START WITH
A short arrangement, limited in scope and duration.
WHY
It tests the relationship and it reduces what is at risk.
WHAT TO INCLUDE
A review point, and a way to end it.
