Let’s talk about a key element in getting what you want out of a deal: Controlling the contract.
When you control the contract, you are controlling the discussion and you are framing the issues.
In order to gain that control in any deal, you must be the party that presents the first draft of the document.
Oh, I hear someone out there moaning that it’s expensive. Yes, it is expensive. But the point is that it’s going to be a lot more expensive for you in the long run when the other side take control over the deal by paying their lawyer the $5,000, $10,000 or even $25,000 that it takes to document the deal.
There’s something psychological that comes into play when someone presents a proposed agreement. The other side almost always believes that they must negotiate against it, that is, against the terms within that document, the document that you, if you were smart, had prepared.
You want the other side to be negotiating against what you want. You want to be the one who frames it. So, frame the issues, control the discussion, control the documents, control the deal that you’re trying to get.
Don’t be penny-wise and freaking ton stupid.
