A free game
Negotiate the Deal
Your company is buying a customer support platform. The vendor’s lawyer has sent their standard terms, and the business has promised a launch in three weeks. You have six clauses to get through. Pushing back costs days, goodwill or both, and how you treat the vendor early on changes what they agree to later. It takes about five minutes.
By Rahil Setia · In-house lawyer, Mumbai
- Buying
- Tidewell Support Cloudfor the customer care team
- Term
- 3 years
- Fees
- ₹60 lakh a year₹1.8 crore in all
- Go-live
- In 21 daysalready promised
How it’s scored
- The deal, out of 60. Each clause is scored on how well it protects your company. The liability cap and your data carry the most points, and the disputes clause the fewest. The last 2 points are for a first-year discount, if you get one.
- Time, out of 20. Full marks if you sign with at least a week to go. After that you lose a point a day, and three a day once the go-live date has passed.
- Goodwill, out of 20. How Tidewell feels about you when you sign. Pushing hard costs goodwill, and when it runs low they become less willing to help.
- The points reflect one in-house lawyer’s view of a sensible deal for this customer. A real deal depends on the business and how much risk it can carry.
- Your choices aren’t sent anywhere. The site counts visits, and your best score stays in your own browser.