A contract negotiator helps parties reach an agreement on terms such as price, delivery schedules, and mediation. They may be neutral or represent a specific party, and often sacrifice “nice to have” points for critical ones. Negotiators spend time in meetings and documenting agreements.
A contract negotiator works to reach an agreement between all parties to a contract. This can include price or negotiation cost, if those factors are part of the negotiation. It may also include terms such as delivery schedules, mediation, and separability. A contract negotiator may be a neutral party whose sole purpose is to reach consensus. He or she may also specifically represent one or more of the parties and be primarily interested in negotiating the contract in your favor.
Companies that process many contracts may have in-house contract negotiators. Other companies may hire professionals. In many cases, these negotiators are lawyers or have a certain amount of legal training or experience. Some regulatory bodies offer certificates and certifications in trading.
When a contract negotiator does not represent one or more specific parties, he or she must be neutral. This allows for a fair review of terms and gives you the opportunity to suggest compromises that work for all parties. In some cases, such neutrality is required and violation of the neutrality rule, usually in the form of a monetary payment or other reward by a party, may be punishable by law.
In many situations, however, a specific party employs the contract negotiator. Your job is to protect that party’s interests by “earning” as many bargaining points as possible. These points can range from establishing complete terms of the contract, modifying the wording, and changing the timeline of the payment rate or deliveries.
Parties to a contract often rank negotiation points by importance, and the contract negotiator needs to understand which points are critical and which may involve compromise. Often, a contract negotiator sacrifices one or more “nice to have” points to get a “need to have” point. For example, a buyer may prefer a lower cost, longer payment terms, and a faster timeline, but the most critical factor may be the timeline due to other commitments. The trader can ask for all three points, but agrees to leave cost and payment terms in exchange for the shortened timeline.
Much of a contract negotiator’s time is spent in meetings. These could be private meetings with his own client or multi-stakeholder meetings where he represents a client. He can also participate in multi-party negotiation sessions with the client.
In addition, the negotiator spends some time documenting agreements and concessions. This can be via email, but it can also involve physical mail. Documenting an agreement is extremely important in the event of disputes at other meetings, so negotiators often record very specific information about any discussions, as well as times and dates.
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