It’s pleasing to see that it’s not just me extolling the virtues of negotiation, with tech sector investor Steven Bartlett taking to LinkedIn to drive home the message.
Last week, the Dragons’ Den star used his LinkedIn profile page to describe “EQ skills” like “negotiation” as “increasingly valuable.”
Professionally, I couldn’t agree more, although – full disclosure – personally, the thought of negotiating used to fill me with dread, writes Olivia Sear, head of legal and compliance at Meet Life Sciences.
My negotiating rival was always the better-suited
Although I had the tools and understood the methodology to successfully negotiate contract terms with contractors and clients, it was not something that came easy to me.
I felt that the other person was always better suited, and had a better understanding of the issue in hand. As a woman in tech at contract renewal, or negotiating over pay, do you feel the same?
How women in tech can look at negotiation
To reassure you, over my career in legal and compliance, including at tech sector-facing firms, I have now come to see negotiation as less of a daunting task.
Instead, I regard it as more of a coveted skillset for any business that I work for. This is especially applicable to those businesses where there are often heavy negotiations to be completed, notably the tech and life sciences sectors where I have previously worked, and now specialise in, respectively.
Pre-negotiation: four questions female techies must self-ask
As a non-lawyer, I have always come at negotiations from a commercial perspective.
There are four if not five questions with a commercial edge that I recommend asking yourself BEFORE entering a negotiation.
- What are both parties wanting to get out of this discussion?
- What is the end goal?
- How will my requirements affect the other party?
- What and more importantly, why are they likely to counter?
This type of thinking works well — at least for me — as a starting point for any negotiation, commercial or otherwise.
Mindset as a negotiator: consider the thinking of your buyer/seller/client
Your four pre-negotiation questions asked and answered, next; consider the other party’s mindset.
Get into the mind of the counterparty and try to understand whether your request is something that is fair and balanced for all parties.
For example, ‘uncapped liability’ would be very nice for you and your camp. However, it’s often not practical for the party sitting opposite you at the negotiating table!
Give and take
Therefore, there cannot (usually) be a (totally) one-sided obligation.
And that’s the case no matter how much your sales team or CEO tells you it’s acceptable and not risky for them to agree to ‘your’ terms.
The key is to try to make the other party understand why it cannot be one-sided.
Bring in relatable examples, plus say WHY
I have found that the use and inclusion of real-world examples or realistic scenarios to mitigate risk is often helpful to getting the other party to understand your position or stance.
So rather than redlining a full-time employment contract, say, with no context, add your amendments and objectively state the reasons ‘why’ in the ‘Comments’ section.
Aim to put down in Word a clear thought-process for the other party to follow and digest.
Let’s skip to the effective negotiation bit: go one-on-one (and so should you ASAP)
My most important ‘hack’ or ‘how-to’ for effective negotiation for women in tech seeking to win the argument – while of course giving the other party a sense that they’ve won, is to lean into the tête-à-tête.
So; pick up the phone, get on a Teams call, or book the date for a face-to-face at the VERY first opportunity you can, to actually do the negotiation!
First, you will find it less stressful to get the negotiation ‘out the way,’ because you’re saying ‘no’ to overly exploring all the permutations.
Not that SOME exploring isn’t sensible!
Beware conversational emails, the unseen start of negotiations
Second, in my experience of tech and other workplaces, many negotiations fail at the first hurdle by ‘conversational’ emails sent back and forth, often without carefully considered redlines, too many redlines, or an excess of brandished red tape.
You’ll have your own example, I’m sure, of a conversation which was effectively a negotiation getting away from you and going against you, before you’d even realised that the negotiation was actually underway!
Negotiation conversations via email: know their limits
In my view, limping into a ‘negotiation conversation’ via email, where you risk irking the other party straight away (sometimes due to the nature of email), is not a conducive way to do business. At any stage!
An initial use email of email, intentionally sparingly and selectively, might be ok. Perhaps you need to understand why they have set out specific clauses in their contracts, for example.
In the negotiating room, talk ‘alternatives’ and ‘options’
But then prioritise getting to the one-on-one, ideally in-person, to discuss why the clauses are unfavourable for your side.
Next, at the same face-to-face meeting, provide alternatives or options.
Offer potential compromises in other areas (that ideally don’t mean much to you but might mean quite a bit to them).
Or can you offer indemnities for specific instances that they’re concerned about.
Compromise: How woman technologists can strike agreement
Most of the time when negotiating in-person, you will be met with a ‘human’ response if you follow the above course.
And likewise in the majority of cases, unless you’re facing off against a particularly bullish client or stubborn individual, you’ll also be met with the all-important COMPROMISE.
Remember, it’s easy to say ‘no’ from an inbox
Again, email isn’t your friend here as a woman in tech, if landing the deal is your aim.
It is much easier for the party to say ‘no’ to a negotiation or proposal weighted in your favour via email, especially where there has been no chance to build rapport.
It is much harder for your opposite number to say ‘no’ when you are face-to-face with each other, particularly if beforehand you’ve added some ‘human’ elements into the conversation.
Negotiation success example
I once had a negotiation where there was no choice but to have a phone call as ‘the decider.’
The call involved a client who had been INSISTING on uncapped liability for a particular provision.
Once we discussed it reasonably, with a realistic example I’d pre-prepared and where I asked questions AROUND why uncapped liability was required, their position shifted. We both came out with favourable yet compromised terms that we were each happy with.
Winning the argument: It’s not just good to talk as a woman in tech, it’s invaluable…
For women in tech, eyeing renewal, pay, or contractual changes, potentially even relating to IR35, I endorse actually TALKING (on the phone or in-person), before the other party decides.
When you need to win the argument, the straightforward activity of speaking, and then walking through it all with questions and examples from your side, is something I feel is often missed.
Penultimate negotiation tip: get an internal risk matrix signed off at board-level
As a legal and compliance adviser, I’ve found it also helps to have an Internal Risk Matrix (IRM) signed off at board level.
Such an IRM helps you to explain why certain terms are non-negotiable straight off the bat (while providing you with extra confidence as to why you are making certain decisions).
An IRM also ensures that whoever is completing negotiations across the business follows the same stance as you, minimising the risk you’ll get caught out in your final stages of negotiation.
We’ve all been brought into a conversation or pitch at the 11th hour, where ‘something’ has been promised to get the client or buyer through the door, and that ‘something’ is simply not achievable!
TLDR: Here’s how to negotiate as a woman in tech…
The art of negotiation can be daunting but it’s a skillset that helps you to professionally grow, build confidence and develop.
Relegate email; bring your questions around their position, ready realistic examples around your position, and use a reassuring, reasonable but assured tone, all while you have a few ‘offers’ up your sleeve.
In today’s global turmoil amid technological change lead by AI, I’m finding that always remaining human, with a commercially astute mindset, is an asset that resonates and refreshes. Negotiation can even become something that is enjoyable. It’s ultimately a ‘people-first’ exercise, where you get to meet many new individuals and even learn from their negotiation skills, ultimately making you an even better negotiator!
Olivia Sear
Olivia Sear is a senior legal and compliance professional with over 12 years of experience spanning the life sciences and tech sectors. She has deep expertise in UK, EU, EEA, US and APAC legislation, with a strong track record in legal advisory, compliance, tax, and risk management. Olivia excels in negotiating contracts, managing outsourced services and ensuring businesses stay aligned with complex regulatory requirements.
