When Your Vendor Says “We Don’t Negotiate Our Contracts”
Bottom line: yes, they do. And if you sign without reading, you may be the one paying for it later.
At least twice in the last several months, I’ve wanted to work with a vendor who told me up front, “We don’t negotiate our terms.” And both times, they ended up negotiating.
Why? A few reasons. First, they wanted the business. Second, I was willing to walk. And third, somewhere along the way, they got a free legal contract review out of me (lol). You’re welcome, I think.
Most recently, I was handed a vendor agreement that was, to put it politely, a hot mess. I’m excited about this opportunity (and I can’t wait to tell you all about it), but I wasn’t about to sign terms I couldn’t live with just to move fast. So I didn’t sign it blindly, and I didn’t walk away either. I sent back my notes. The deal is moving forward on terms that work for me.
The Cost of Skipping the Read
I recently spoke with a business owner I would have called savvy. Sharp, successful, and very much in the game. They signed a very expensive contract with a vendor whose end product would have been a real boost to their business. They were excited, they were busy, and they didn’t push back on the terms.
Then the vendor stopped delivering. By the time they called me, they were trying to find a way out of an agreement that had very few exits.
Being excited about an opportunity is great. But excitement is not a contract term.
Your “Before You Sign” Checklist
You don’t need a law degree to ask smart questions. Before you sign anything, check these:
- Termination. How do you get out? Can they get out and leave you hanging? What does it cost you to leave early?
- Money. How much, when, and how? What happens if you’re late? (Hello, late fees.) Are there auto-renewals or price increases tucked into the fine print?
- Deliverables. What exactly are you getting? Who sets the timeline? Who decides when the work is “acceptable”? If the answer is “the vendor,” that’s a problem.
- When things go sideways. What’s the dispute process? Where will they sue you? If the answer is a state three time zones away, you want to know that now, not after you get served.
A Word About Pressure
If a vendor is pushing you to sign right now, take a breath. Urgency is a classic sales tactic, and it’s a red flag. A good vendor can wait 48 hours for you to read the thing.
And since we’re on the subject: I wish people put as much energy into negotiating their business deals as they do into posting that Facebook message trying to reserve rights and revoke permissions. You agreed to those terms the moment you made the account, friends. But that’s a story for another day.
Read It. Question It. Ask for Help.
Read what you’re signing. Don’t be afraid to push back. Most vendors have more flexibility than they let on, especially when you’re willing to walk. And if you read the contract and can’t make heads or tails of it, that’s exactly when to bring in help, before you sign, not after.
That’s what I’m here for. Reach out to me at Sedgwick Andrews, and let’s make sure the deal in front of you is one you can live with.
Aisha Jorge Massengill, Esq., SHRM-SCP, is the founder of Sedgwick Andrews Legal & Consulting, LLC. This post is for general information and is not legal advice.
