 The best way to predict the future is to create it
Creating your future through the fine art of negotiation by Toni and Daniel Will-HarrisIt wasn't long ago that most people expected to go through their lives working for someone else. They didn't have to worry about negotiations and contracts because there were whole departments that did nothing but this. Now more and more people are going off on their own, and
the Web is letting them create global businesses from their bedrooms (we know, that's where ours started). With your own business, you don't just work for the company; you have to get work for the company, and to do that, you have to know how to negotiate a contract. Being freelance writers and designers, we've had to do this for ourselves for many years, and each time we negotiated something, we learned from our experience—what worked,
what didn't, and most important, what we overlooked. We recently watched a friend work on a deal that eventually fell through. His most basic mistake: He was so interested in getting a deal that he was willing to accept a deal that wasn't
as much to his advantage as it could and should have been. It was actually good that this deal didn't work out because it wasn't to his advantage, and now he can learn from his experiences and go out and get a better deal. (In Secrets of Consulting, Gerald Weinberg advises: "If you need the money, don't take the job." Unfortunately, not everyone can be that picky.)  Figure out what you want
This seems obvious, but it's more subtle than that. You have to: Consider your best possible deal. Make a list of everything you ideally want, whether or not you think everything is practical. The more specific, the better. You'll rarely get everything you want, but the more precisely you know what that is, the better your chances are of getting
more or most of it. Decide what it's worth to you. The more work you do, the more you will realize that some of it wasn't worth your while. The money you got didn't make up for the time and effort you expended and the aggravation you endured.
Set your own bottom line. What is the least you are willing to take? Negotiations are like an auction, you have to be very clear on what you're willing to give and take in order to end up happy. Otherwise, in the heat of negotiations, you
are liable to give away or agree to something you will regret. Make a list of the absolute least you're willing to accept. You must be honest with yourself here. Yes, you want the work and the money, but if you don't get what you really need,
then you will be unhappy later. Money isn't always the bottom line. This is easy to forget. As someone near and dear to me says, "It's hard to say no when someone is dangling money in your face." And it's true—it's natural to want to "take the money and run,"
but this can often lead to trouble. Priorities: Sometimes you take a job because you want to work with a certain company, to increase your credibility, to make contacts, or because you admire the company or its products and want to be associated with them. In those cases, you need to be willing to take less in terms of money because that's not your number one priority. Sometimes it's important in a job to get extra control over
the finished product. Even when paid well, writers, designers, and artists can end up very unhappy if the finished product isn't to their liking (trust me on this). Sometimes, to get more artistic or content control, you have to be willing to take less money. You give something to get something. It all depends on what's most important to you.  Ask for what you want
If you don't ask for something, you won't get it
Sometimes people are afraid to ask for what they want because they think it will make the other party angry. If the other party gets angry just because you ask for something, you probably don't want to work with them.If you're embarrassed to ask for things face to face, write them down in a memo or e-mail and send them. That way you get your points across without a direct confrontation. It also can be easier to do this because you get your whole list
across, without any discussion or arguments. In most negotiations, if you ask for something the other party doesn't like, they'll just say "no" and move on to the next point. Neither side should take offense at something, even if you think it's unreasonable. As Nancy Reagan used to say, "Just say no." If that one thing is a deal-breaker (based on the bottom line you set for yourself), then you don't want to give in on that point anyway! Don't start with your final offer. Never show or tell the other party your bottom line. Never start at your bottom line. You must always have something to give in on, something to give up, and something to compromise, otherwise the other party won't feel as if they've gotten
something out of you, or that you're willing to be flexible. If you start at your bottom line, you will be assured of getting less than you want and need. We don't mean to imply that this is a game of manipulation. It's just a matter of human nature. Always ask for some things you're willing to give up. You always want to be able to give in on something, just to make the people you're negotiating with feel as if they've won something. Come up with some points that would be fine if you got them, fine if you didn't, so you can easily give in on them without feeling as if you've lost something. You don't have to make a big deal about giving in on these; this isn't
deception or manipulation. It just gives you and the other party some leeway and flexibility. Under-promise and over-deliver. That's what a friend of mine says, and it's great advice. If you tell someone you're going to sell 5,000 of something and you sell 10,000,
then they're pleased. But if you tell them you're going to sell 15,000 and only sell 10,000, they're disappointed! The same is true for budgets and deadlines. Promise less than you know you can deliver, then deliver more than you promised. Realize you have something valuable
One common mistake people make during a negotiation is forgetting they have something of value. People get so caught up in the process and in the potential gain, that they think they're lucky to get anything. You have to remember you're giving the other party something valuable, or they wouldn't be dealing with you in the first place. The other party is as lucky to be dealing with you as you are to be dealing with them (if you don't feel this way; you need
to ask yourself whether you should really be in this negotiation). You'll get only as much as you really think you are worth.  Learn how to say "no"
This is one of the hardest things to learn, but one of the most important. If someone offers you something that isn't really in your best interest, you have to learn how to refuse. An offer of work or money can be so seductive that it's very hard to refuse. If you don't learn how to say no to an offer that isn't right, you are going to get yourself into a position you're unhappy
with. If that happens, at least learn from it and learn to say no in the future. One thing we've learned is that if you say no to something that really isn't the best offer, you leave room for a better offer to come along. Usually one does. If one doesn't, then you can often go back to that original offer and say "yes." If you're truly desperate and can't afford to lose, then you're going to say yes to almost anything anyone offers you. With
effort, you can work your way out of that position so the next time you have room to say no. (You might consider getting temp work instead of doing something you'd really hate. Temp work can keep you going for years, and it's a great way to try different jobs, different companies, until you find something you really like, and many times temp work can turn into a full-time job you love.)
Written contracts are not set in stone Often companies or organizations will have standard contracts. These are always to their advantage. That's as it should be (and you should have your own standard contract for that same reason).But most people don't realize they can cross out or rewrite anything in any written contract. That doesn't mean the
other party will agree to these changes; it just means you can make changes and present them. Many times they'll say, "Fine." If they reject the changes, you still have the options of negotiating or signing the contract as is. You are under no obligation to sign a standard contract as-is (unless you have already agreed to all of the same points—check with your legal counsel to find out specifics in your area). However, if you agree to specific terms, and those terms are
correctly written into a contract, you should not alter them. Only alter items you have not specifically agreed to. Some companies won't budge on their contracts. But imagine how much fun it would be to work for one of those companies. Agree at your own risk. Be willing to listen and make compromises
Benjamin Franklin said compromise is the heart of democracy. It's an absolute necessity in negotiations. You must be willing to give in on certain things, or few people will want to deal with you. "A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece." —Ludwig Erhard Remember, though, there's a difference between making a compromise and compromising. You don't want to compromise your values or needs, but you do want to be able to have the give and take that makes up a positive compromise between two parties.  Make it a "win-win" proposition
The best deals are those in which both parties win. It's quite possible to make that happen (as long as the two sides don't have diametrically opposed wants and needs, and if they do, the chances of getting a
good deal are slim to begin with).You don't want a deal where you get everything you want and the other side gets nothing. They'll be unhappy and that will make them difficult to work with and unhappy with the results, no matter what wonderful things you've done. If they're working for you, then you run the risk they won't want to finish the project. The happier both sides are with a deal, the easier they will work together, and the happier both will be with the results.
Isn't that what you want anyway? Walk a mile in their shoes Be fair—Look at things from the other side. Figure out what they want and need and try to give it to them if you can. The point of a good negotiation is not to have a "winner" and "loser." The point is to come up with something that makes everybody happy.  Be willing to walk away
This is crucial. You must be able to say
"I'm out of here" at any time or you have very little chance of getting what you want. If you are desperate for the job or the deal, then the other party will sense this and not give you what you want. Then you'll be all too willing to give away what you want and need, and in the end, even though you get the job or deal, it's not a good one for you, and you will regret it. Some deals aren't worth having
It can take years in the "school of hard knocks" to learn this, but it seems that some lessons you have to learn yourself. We hope you won't have to learn this way, but chances are good you will, so be prepared.Until you learn to ask for what you want and say no to things you don't want and are willing to walk away, you will end up with deals that, in the end, weren't worth having. They took
too much time and energy with too little return. They kept you busy when you could have been doing something else, something better. And they made your life, that little thing that most people do while waiting for something better to come along, miserable. All this can be avoided if you are just willing to turn down a deal that isn't to your advantage.  Learn to smell trouble
Negotiations can naturally be touchy affairs because each side is trying to get what it wants,
which may not always be what the other side wants. But negotiations should not be contentious, unpleasant, angry, or emotional.How people act before you have an agreement is an important indicator of how they will act afterward—because they are probably on better behavior before. So if they're not good to negotiate with, they'll be worse to work with. If you can't agree on small things, you're not
going to agree on bigger ones Negotiations are the first way you work together. So they give you a preview of coming attractions (or coming distractions). Warning sign: One very important thing to look out for is when the other party won't give in on something little, inexpensive, and relatively unimportant to them. One example is the credit you receive. If a contract won't give
you adequate credit (something that can cost virtually nothing), then the other party isn't going to give you something that actually costs them something. If the negotiation is unpleasant, the job will be, too Personalities emerge during a negotiation. Someone can be a hard negotiator, but still be pleasant about it. If they're not
pleasant now, they won't be pleasant when you're working with them either. Life is too short for that. Don't change a term you previously agreed to Once you've agreed to something, you've agreed. Trying to renegotiate something you've already negotiated is like breaking an agreement. It's a sign of bad faith. If someone
tries this on you, make your refusal clear, and be warned of future problems. Avoid adding terms at the last minute The more you plan up front (with lists of what you want and need), the less need there will be to throw something in at the last minute. Last-minute additions can make it seem as if
someone is trying to slip something in, and they are rarely appreciated and can jeopardize the entire deal.  Nothing personal
Negotiations naturally make people emotional. You want something, the other party wants something, and when you don't get what you want, it's easy to get angry or take things personally. Don't. It's only business. You must always remember that. It is human nature to take things personally and get emotional, but this will always get in the way and
cause problems. If the party you are negotiating with gets angry or acts hurt, explain that this is business, it's not personal, and you just want to get a deal you can both be happy with. A friend of mine looks at it another way: "All business is personal and the way someone behaves in one arena reflects the way they behave in another. If you don't like someone at least a little personally, if you can't find something you value about that person, why would you want to be involved in
something as intimate and personal as business? It depends, of course, on how intimate the project is–if you're just selling them something, then that's one thing, but if you're working with them to develop something, then you want someone you think is pleasant to be around." If you find an offer or item insulting or impossibly bad, try saying, "I'm sorry, but that's unacceptable." "Unacceptable" is a good word, because it's clear and final, but also professional.
If people get hurt or angry now, they will get hurt and angry when you work with them. Or they will feel vengeful about the negotiation and make the work unpleasant. So it makes sense to avoid all of this if at all possible. If not, you're just going to suffer through these same personality issues during the job. Learn from others in your field Ask friends or colleagues you respect and trust what terms they have in their negotiations. Every field is different, and they may have terms you haven't thought of. You'll do less suffering if you learn from their mistakes instead of just your own! Have someone to support you This person can be a partner (either professional or personal), a mentor, or just a friend, but it needs to be someone you know is on your side and giving you good objective advice. This can help you keep perspective. Get it in writing... As the negotiation progresses, it's vital to get everything in writing. We tell you how, in Part II.
About the authors  Daniel Will-Harris is a designer and author whose design and writing work can be found at his Web site. His site features TypoFile
Magazine and EsperFonto, the Web's only typeface selection system. He may be reached via e-mail at daniel@will-harris.com. Toni Will-Harris is a writer, designer, and
naturalist who runs the
Point Reyes Chipmunk Observatory and Gardens. She can be reached at Toni@Will-Harris.com. This picture is not recent—or actual size.
Illustrations: Japanese musings by Donna Ikkanda for www.artville.com | 
