As in all industries, negotiations are inevitable when running a videogame studio. Maybe you want to use a song that someone else has the rights to, or a publisher approaches you about publishing your game; in both cases\u2014and in many others\u2014you probably will, at some point, have to meet at the negotiation table.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But negotiations can be challenging, especially if you don’t have years and years of experience running a videogame studio and maybe haven’t sat through many dealmaking processes. Therefore, we sat down with Annette Stavenow, President and CEO of Lawyer.se, who’s successfully negotiated countless deals on behalf of our clients, to get some advice on what makes a good deal, how to prepare ahead of negotiations, what to think of when you’re at the table, and how to know when to walk away.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abIf you’re still satisfied with the deal six months after you closed negotiations, you made a good deal,\u00bb Annette explained. But being satisfied with a deal can mean different things, she added. Any negotiation consists of two parameters, which may vary in importance in each case: your relationship with the other party, and the matter at hand. How you view and value each of the two parameters in relation to each other dictates how you approach the negotiation. For example, if you think you might work with the other party again in the future, you might feel that it’s worth compromising more to maintain a good relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What kind of negotiation it is will also dictate how you prepare for it. \u00abThere are soft negotiations and hard negotiations,\u00bb Annette said. A soft approach can be better if \u00abthe cost of winning outweighs the value of winning\u00bb or if the relationship is more important than the issue at hand. Taking a softer line can also be useful if there are no other good options. \u00abBut even then, you have to be able to live with the outcome,\u00bb she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But sometimes the topic of the meeting is so important that it trumps everything else, and getting the outcome you want outweighs maintaining a good relationship with the other party; then, Annette noted, a more strict approach is needed. But, she warned, if you go into a negotiation with a hard line, you’ll also have to be ready to walk away if you’re not getting what you want.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s essential to identify what you want from the negotiations, what your \u00abneed-to-haves\u00bb are, and what your \u00abnice-to-haves\u00bb are. And where you draw the line, so-called \u00abwalk-away situations,\u00bb before you sit down to discuss making a deal. Reasons to potentially walk away include when the issue is not important enough to be worth the time or money, when you have low or no investment in maintaining the relationship with the other party, or if you have plenty of options and the other side is not requiring a lot of compromises.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preparations also include thinking through the other party’s walk-away situations and solutions for those walk-away situations. \u00abPreplan your walk-away situation. Visualize it. It can be terrifying to see the other party walk away or walk away yourself, and because it’s hard, you need to practice it,\u00bb Annette explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hopefully, you won’t end up in a situation where you or your counterpart have to leave the table. There are plenty of things you can do when you sit down to foster connection with the other side: Annette suggests showing interest in the people you’re negotiating with, and studying them to learn how they work as humans.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abThen, find out the other person’s needs. Ask open-ended questions, like, ‘What’s most important to you?’ or, ‘How much authority do you have?’ By asking open-ended questions, you learn much more,\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are also some strategies you can use to help you during negotiations, like staying silent when they feel like they’re done talking; oftentimes, this will make them nervous, which will compel them to continue talking. Another tip from Annette is to repeat what they say to show that you’re listening and interested in them, mirror body language, and always treat them with respect and dignity, even if what they say upsets you. \u00abThe more we can strengthen the relationship, the more likely it is that we come out ahead,\u00bb she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Negotiations in the videogame industry can happen between parties of all sizes. But it can feel intimidating for indie studios to negotiate with the behemoths of gaming, like Microsoft, Amazon, and Tencent. But according to Annette, the size of your counterpart doesn’t matter as long as you’re confident in your plan. \u00abIt’s actually a psychological thing. Who’s the biggest company has nothing to do with who wins a negotiation. But a lot of people believe that, so they get scared. That only puts you at a disadvantage because you lose all your power. If you have a solid plan and know what’s what, you can relax and feel confident, and the other side will notice that right away.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But even when you’ve done everything right, you can still reach a point where you feel like you’re losing the deal. Don’t be afraid to take a break and regroup with your team, Annette suggests. \u00abTalk through what’s happening and decide what you should do. And sometimes that can mean asking the other side if you can table an issue.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the dealmaking is done, it’s crucial to assess how things went. Try to identify what went well and what each member of the team could have done better. Doing this is a big help in preparation for future negotiations and ensures you’re even sharper next time, Annette said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abThe most important thing is to prepare so much it’s almost ridiculous. Really sit and think about every single parameter; doing that makes it all the more likely you’ll win the next time you sit down at the negotiating table.\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As in all industries, negotiations are inevitable when running a videogame studio. Maybe you want to use a song that someone else has the rights to, or a publisher approaches you about publishing your game; in both cases\u2014and in many others\u2014you probably will, at some point, have to meet at the negotiation table.\u00a0 But negotiations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-okategoriserad"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n