Purchasing's smartest negotiators move from conflict to collaboration fast. Match your wits against these pros. Guess their strategy. Then, read what they really did at purchasing.com/negotiations.

A software supplier used an end-of-the-year time-pressure ploy in an attempt to coerce the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to use the supplier's contract template for the associated software license and technical support. Among other unfavorable terms, the supplier's contract template did not provide for acceptance testing, did not provide indemnification against infringement, and pegged technical support at 20% of the list price of the software.

Problem: It was the end of December. In return for price concessions, the supplier required the use of its own contract template, which would have required significant time to redline and to negotiate changes necessary to merely place the contract on an equitable level. Stephen Guth, executive director of NRECA's Vendor Management Office and author of the Contract Negotiation Handbook: An Indispensable Guide for Contract Professionals (http://www.lulu.com/content/1718685), risked either losing the deal entirely or signing up to an unfavorable contract. See www.purchasing.com for the solution.

Among the possibilities: Use the vendor's contract template or find an alternate vendor.

Solution
Guth quickly reviewed the vendor’s contract template with his internal customer, pointed out to the customer the most serious issues, and explained to the customer how those issues could significantly impact the customer during the implementation of the software and beyond. After the customer acknowledged that the value of the deal would be impaired by the flawed contract template, Guth developed a simple negotiation tactic that reversed the time pressure, and he made sure his customer was fully onboard before implementing the tactic. Guth and his customer purposely did not communicate with the vendor until a couple of days before the year-end, reversing the time pressure onto the vendor. They then approached the vendor with a unified front, saying that if the vendor wanted to get the deal done by the end of the year, the vendor would have to use NRECA’s contract template. Guth also mentioned to the vendor that he had an NRECA software license contract template already modified to fit the specifics of the deal and that his management was immediately prepared to sign the contract that day. After sending the NRECA contract template to the vendor, the vendor acquiesced on all of the points that were of potential issue to NRECA and a provided a lower technical support fee as well.

Are you a black belt negotiator? Tell us about one of your negotiation successes, and we'll print it so others can learn from your experience. Send it to pteague@reedbusiness.com.