Avoid the High Cost of Haggling – Have a Game Plan

Get Rich Slowly has a post up on The High Cost of Laziness.  They point out that you can lose a lot of money if you fail to negotiate when striking a deal. We think about negotiating all the time at WhichDraft.com, which is why we offer the ability to save, compare (red line) and comment on multiple versions of a contract.  Try it out right here.

If you are going to haggle, it’s extremely important to improve your negotiating sophistication when handling a deal.  Too often, people are not aware of where the biggest risks are.  Even lawyers usually miss the key issues (as they tend to be overly focused on the possibility that the parties will sue each other, which is highly unlikely).

So what are the big risks?  Pay close attention to the following:

(1) Description: What are you buying or selling?  Make sure you include a clear, inarguable description of the good or service being sold or purchased.

(2) Price: What’s the cost?  There should be no doubt as to the fee, and, if you are breaking it up into several payments, make sure you clearly indicate the due dates for each installment.

(3) Delivery: When do you get what you want?  Have a clear statement as to when the seller has to supply the good or service at hand.

(4) Exit: How do you get out?  If you are unhappy with an ongoing arrangement (typically a service), you need a termination right that will let you kill the deal and move on to another provider.  The same is true for a seller, who may find a particular customer too unruly to continue to do business with.

Bear these key risks in mind next time you haggle, and you will greatly increase the chances that you will walk away a happy dealmaker.

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