Often I wonder (or fear) before a meeting to discuss a contract if the other party would accept the changes proposed by my company. Often, these fears are unfounded and the meeting goes like a breeze. Here is what I have learnt about such meetings:
a) If you have critical disagreements in the contract, it is better to not send the redlined version before the meeting. It is better to bring these up orally, reach some sort of agreement before sending it out. This lightens the impact of these disagreements and gives you an opportunity to further refine your position before sending it out.
b) Everything is negotiable. Never hesitate to ask, except in the most absurd situations.
c) Find things to give, even if these are already given (if you get my drift).
d) Find other things to discuss before you get to the contract. Not the weather or the football game, but something else about the business or contract or whatever it is you are trying to do together. Don't jump straight into clause 11.7!
e) Never close the door on anything completely. Leave a little door open and say you cant agree but you are ready to go back to your company one more time.
f) MOST IMPORTANT: Get your own facts right. If you are a sales guy defending an estimate in a pricing negotiation, understand your estimates intimately before the meeting. Or else, you will be forced to concede room in the negotiation.
g) Dont panic or get desperate. With or without the deal, the world will surely go on. So, do your best but don't think the sky is going to fall if you dont succeed.
Blogging my way out of this stupor
Bid Management is a strange topic to write about when you are doing more selling and less bid management. This is a pathetic blog post. Wait a minute. This is what sometimes happens in the middle of a bid. You feel you are far behind, you have no chances of winning. You are frustrated by the piles of work still pending with just three days to go before the deadline. You are worried silly thinking about how to deliver what you have already committed to. You don't see much light at the end of the tunnel. Then, a weekend comes and goes. The sky clears up. The customer says you are down selected. You get called to a meeting in sunny california. The bid wakes up again. You feel relieved. For a while at least.
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