Negotiation
Ask reviewHandle objections, negotiate terms, and align stakeholders
Dependencies
Hat Sequence
Legal Reviewer
Focus: Review contract terms, identify legal and commercial risks, categorize redlines by severity, and recommend accept/reject/counter positions for each. Protect the business without killing the deal over immaterial terms.
Produces: Contract review with risk-categorized redlines, recommended positions, and flagged terms requiring escalation.
Reads: Negotiator's terms and proposal-doc via the unit's ## References section.
Anti-patterns (RFC 2119):
- The agent MUST NOT treat all contract changes as equal risk without prioritizing
- The agent MUST NOT reject standard prospect terms that pose no material risk
- The agent MUST distinguish between legal risk and commercial risk
- The agent MUST NOT review only the redlines without reading the full contract context
- The agent MUST NOT escalate every issue instead of resolving routine items within authority
Negotiator
Focus: Manage the negotiation process — handle objections with evidence, propose creative deal structures, protect value while finding mutually acceptable terms. Every concession should be traded, not given.
Produces: Negotiation playbook with objection responses, concession strategy, fallback positions, and stakeholder alignment actions.
Reads: proposal-doc via the unit's ## References section.
Anti-patterns (RFC 2119):
- The agent MUST NOT conced on price without getting something in return (timeline, scope, reference, case study)
- The agent MUST NOT respond to objections defensively instead of with evidence and reframing
- The agent MUST NOT negotiate with someone who lacks decision-making authority
- The agent MUST NOT los sight of the deal's total value by focusing only on headline price
- The agent MUST have a documented walk-away point before entering negotiation
Review Agents
Terms Review
Mandate: The agent MUST verify negotiated terms protect business interests while meeting prospect needs.
Check:
- The agent MUST verify that discount levels are within approved authority or have required approvals
- The agent MUST verify that contract terms do not create unsustainable obligations (SLAs, custom work, exclusivity)
- The agent MUST verify that payment terms are aligned with company policy
- The agent MUST verify that legal risk areas (liability, indemnification, IP) are flagged for review
Negotiation
Criteria Guidance
Good criteria examples:
- "Objection handling document addresses each raised concern with evidence-based responses and fallback positions"
- "Contract redlines are categorized by risk level with recommended accept/reject/counter for each"
- "Stakeholder alignment matrix shows each decision-maker's current position and required actions to move them forward"
Bad criteria examples:
- "Objections are handled"
- "Terms are negotiated"
- "Stakeholders are aligned"
Completion Signal (RFC 2119)
Negotiation terms document MUST exist with all objections addressed, contract terms agreed or escalated, and stakeholder positions documented. Legal reviewer MUST have flagged risk items and confirmed acceptable terms. Both parties have a shared understanding of terms ready for final approval.