Contract Renewal Increase
Getting a good contract renewal increase is a skill. So, we will advise you on how to get not one but two.
If you’ve done a good job (or got a good reputation, or they like you), the chances are that they’ll renew you.
Now you must make sure that you get a good contract rate increase.
In fact you must get two good increases, i.e. one from the company and one from the agent.
Take Your Boss Out
Take your boss out a couple of weeks before you are up for renewal. Wine him and dine him (or her). Let him, or her, choose their favourite local restaurant.
If you don’t want to do that, go out for a drink with him at lunchtime or in the evening. Make sure that you buy the first drink.
Contractors don’t do enough of this, but they should be salesmen for their business services. They should do more of the requisite ‘sweetening’.
Favourable Impression
Make sure that your boss has a favourable impression of you by the time he or she gets the suggested contract renewal increase from your agent.
The contract renewal increase that you want from both the company and agent, will be presented to your boss first.
Don’t worry about upsetting him. He knows that it is a negotiation.
In fact the higher the figure that you put, the more likely that he is likely to come up with a higher figure as a compromise.
That is human nature.
He may give you everything that you ask for, and that has happened before.
This would be a win for you. That’s because you would still have some fat that you can cut from the agency at your next renewal.
Keep the Boss Informed
In most circumstances though, he or she will come back to the agent with some compromise deal.
Whatever this deal is, it should be acceptable to you – but you want more.
And the agency hasn’t coughed up anything yet.
Contract Renewal Negotiation
The important thing is not to lose your job over it.
Therefore, you must speak to your boss, and tell him that you will be renewing your contract. Tell him to ignore anything that the agency will say, as it is now down to negotiation between you and them.
He is far more likely to be on your side than that of the agent.
Contract Renewal Increase Not Acceptable
You tell the agency that your bosses offer is not acceptable to you. Then you tell them that another company has made a good offer elsewhere which you are considering.
You should tell your agent that you would rather remain where you are, but that you don’t want to lose out financially. Say that the other job is closer to home.
He or she will enquire as to who or where it is (it is an automatic reflex action for them), but you would rather not tell them – especially as it doesn’t exist.
Renewal Increase Not Acceptable
The agency will get back to the client and tell them that his offer is not acceptable to you, and that you want more (and possibly that you have the offer of another job).
Your boss may get back to you for further reassurance that you actually are staying on.
If he doesn’t, you should make sure that you ask him, when you see him, if the agency have been in touch.
Reassure Client
You once again tell him that everything is fine. You tell him that you are just trying to get some more money out of the agency. Tell him again that you are happy with what he has offered.
If he says something to you like, “but they said that you had been offered another job”, just say “Did they?” with a puzzled look.
Your boss will definitely be on your side if the agency are getting up to sneaky tricks like that. You haven’t lied either. You were just asking him a question.
Check Mate
You now have all your chess pieces in play, and the agent either has the choice to let you go, and tell the client that you are going (almost unheard of), or give you what you want.
It is not considered good form to stand out completely for the figure you quoted. So you should accept a little less, just to give them a better feeling of well-being.
As I say, this is considered good form.
The Contract Renewal Equation
You would, of course, have added this bit on in the first place, as you would have allowed for this.
The Equation is what you think your boss can afford + what you think your agency can afford + the bit you’re going to take off later as a compromise.
Technical Knowledge?
What is the weakness in this?
Well, you have to be able to back it up with your ability and knowledge.
You don’t want to be the most expensive person at your site, as well as the least technically good.
Any weakness here will have to be made up by ingratiating yourself to your boss. That works equally as well.
Good Contract Renewal Negotiators
It tends to be, though, that God didn’t make good technical people to be good negotiators, and good negotiators to be good technically.
I’ve always thought that there was room for a role for contractors to have agents, whose sole role was to negotiate for them.
Contractors make a mistake in thinking that their agents are their agents.
Never have a group of people been so inappropriately named.
Their first loyalty is to the client, and most of them will tell you that.
So, make sure you get a good contract renewal increase out of both of them.
See also Getting a Good Rate
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