Pick Up The Phone
Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I still think that a phone is the most effective negotiating tool and is the fastest and easiest way to resolve a contract negotiation.
I don’t know why it is, but there are people (sometimes clients, sometimes vendors) who think it is more important to document a negotiation, than it is to complete the negotiation and they insist on solely using email to communicate. I firmly believe that once an agreement has been made, it is imperitive for the terms to be written out and approved by both parties. My contractual preference (after watching too much court tv) is to get a comprehensive written contract signed by both parties with the specifics of the agreement.
I have had more than one experience in recent years with clients who are usually harried, their company is usually experiencing a growth spurt and they claim to not have time to read all their emails. Yet, they need my help or the help of one of my vendors and cannot find a minute to just pick up the phone to quickly negotiate for the services.
It is commonly known that emails are generally read as “negative”, especially when there is a negotiation going on and one or both people involved are emotionally attached to the outcome. See the article by the American Psychological Association. This factor keeps email negotiations very low on my list for favorable contractual outcomes.
My most recent experience with this phenomenon ended yesterday. It must have taken the client a total of an hour to write all of the emails he sent to me over the past two days, yet he insisted he was swamped. I suggested a 5 minute phone conversation which would have put his and my concerns to rest, but he would not return my phone call. We eventually resolved the issues via multiple (an not so pleasant emails from his side) emails and we came to an agreement, at which time I wrote him an email outlining our agreement, he agreed, signed and faxed it over, and the project started today.
The point I am getting to is that during the massive amount of email exchanges, he asserted all kinds of unfounded offensive remarks. In my opinion, barraging the opposing party with accusations never moves a situation forward, it usually stymies or kills the negotiation leaving bad feelings on both sides. Bargaining via email, is never a good idea. My suggestion is to Pick Up The Phone and then seal the deal in email. It makes for better partnerships and relationships.
In my next blog, I will address points regarding diffusing hostile or aggressive situations, either via email, by phone or in-person(which usually doesn’t happen, since most people read body language pretty well).