Getting to Deal Closure: A Forgotten Objective
Sep 9, 2020 | Blog
When you’re directly in charge of negotiation process management, nothing comes easy. Negotiation is a hard-fought battle, a delicate dance, and an art form all rolled into one. At its core, getting the job done isn’t necessarily an over complicated process, but people tend to misinterpret it. Many want to endlessly pick apart this phrase or that, or gripe over arbitrary nuances that won’t mean much (if anything) in actual practice. This is exactly what you don’t want to do, though. It just serves as a distraction from the real important stuff, like pricing and more. And when you shove this all to the side, you’re never going to get anywhere. Want to get to the deal closure part? Make it an actual objective, not just a hopeful, passive outcome.
The Guts of Negotiation
To make closing the deal a real, achievable goal, you’ve got to first understand the “guts” of negotiation. We can tell you right off the bat that you should not be focusing on endlessly negotiating insignificant terms or slugging through various bits of legalese. As said before, it just serves to pull you away from the real important things to get right. This includes pricing, discounts, quality terms, supply dates, contract lengths, etcetera.
It may seem obvious when sitting back reading this, but it can often become far from when in the stress that is the negotiation table. It’s incredibly easy to get stuck in the minutia but try to resist. Instead, remind yourself to be mindful of anything that will directly influence profits and/or reputation. This is an excellent guide to determine what’s surface level and what’s crucial to your business and partnership’s success. If something doesn’t clearly tick either of these boxes, it’s likely something that can take a backseat in your negotiations.
Closing the Deal
After understanding what needs to be pushed for a deal and what doesn’t, now it’s time to get to the difficult question: how am I supposed to close the deal? Well, you’ve already done the first step, which is turning your eye away from what doesn’t truly matter. Beyond that, though, things get a little hazy. Let’s remember, not all negotiations end in an agreement, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach that’ll guarantee a contract. We do still have a few tips for you, though, which might come in handy when the going gets tough:
Negotiate the process – You know you should be negotiating business terms, but did you know you should also be negotiating about the negotiations? You should, as it can avoid false assumptions and unnecessary inefficiency. From the beginning, clarify who should lead negotiations, any ground rules, and what should be discussed. A quicker agreement can usually happen, then.
Set deadlines – It’s not fun, but concessions and compromises are the backbones of reaching an agreement. They make sure everyone gets something from the partnership. Set deadlines, and you’ll likely be spurred to make more and become more agreeable –as will the other party. More agreeableness = better, quicker deal closures.
Take a break – Sounds counterproductive, but taking more breaks allows all parties to clear their head, reevaluate their priorities, re-empathize with the other side, and come up with creative solutions. All of this bodes well for getting a deal done, whereas hammering away at the issue will just leave you both frustrated and unwilling to work together.
Bring in a third-party – Doing everything you can but still find yourself not getting anywhere? Try bringing in a neutral party to oversee negotiations. Both sides can confide in them about their bottom lines, and the outside negotiator can help find the necessary middle ground to reach an agreement. In worst-case scenarios, they can at least point out when there’s an impasse that will disallow you from sealing the deal, helping you know when to move on to others who might be a better fit.
About Intellext™
Intellext is an AI startup that is revolutionizing the way contracts are negotiated, accelerating time to close, and improving deal terms. Intellext’s Intelligent Negotiation Platform™ eliminates the complexities of contract redlines and stakeholder collaboration and optimizes deal terms by applying machine learning during the negotiation process.