Contract negotiation: traditional, doc sharing, and e-signature-based

Contract negotiation is the process where two or more parties discuss, revise, and agree on the terms of a contract before signing it. The goal is to create a legally binding agreement that is fair, clear, and beneficial for everyone involved.

As every part of contract management, negotiating contracts comes with its own challenges, benefits, and ways to organize and improve the whole process.

During negotiation, each party may propose changes to contract terms and conditions, mainly related to:

• Pricing & payment: how much will be paid, when, and under what conditions?
• Scope of work: what services or products are being provided?
• Timelines & deadlines: when should tasks be completed, project delivered, or service provided?
• Risk allocation: who is responsible if something goes wrong?
• Termination & renewal: under what conditions can the contract be ended or extended?

How different solutions help negotiate contracts faster?

It’s no surprise that negotiating contracts is one of the lengthier parts of the whole process, especially if the deal in question is particularly crucial.

But with time negotiating contracts is becoming less time-consuming.

For one, thanks to new workflows, such as implementing cross-organisational collaboration. Before it was put in place, the average negotiation cycle time on complex projects was 12-18 months. Now, 75% of those deals are done in less than eight weeks.

For two, thanks to technology. Think about email inboxes instead of physical meetings, e-signatures instead of traditional signing, or doc sharing solutions. 

But, which technology solution is the easiest to use to take contract negotiation to the next level while remaining safe and secure when dealing with often sensitive information?

That’s what we’ll uncover in this article, comparing three ways to negotiate contracts: traditionally, over doc sharing solutions and email, and using e-signature tools, like Autenti.

But first—let’s revisit the key stages of contract negotiation no matter the strategy you’re going to use to enhance them.

Key stages of contract negotiation: do’s and don’ts

Preparation

The basics of contract negotiation, before negotiations even begin, is actually preparing for the talks. This stage involves research, strategy setting, and aligning internal stakeholders on the mutual goal and preferred outcome.

According to this Harvard Law School article on deal negotiation, mapping out the whole negotiation process can help you avoid falling into false assumptions.

What usually happens at this stage?

• Identifying business objectives and priorities.
• Researching the other party’s needs, pain points, and goal of contract negotiation.
• Understanding legal requirements and compliance regulations.
• Gathering past contracts, templates, and industry benchmarks.
• Setting a negotiation strategy, including fallback positions.

Initial offer

Preparations are usually followed by one party drafting and sharing the first version of the contract, setting the stage for negotiation itself.

What usually happens at this stage?

• Drafting a contract that reflects key terms and expectations.
• Ensuring clarity in pricing, deliverables, timelines, and responsibilities.
• Addressing key legal and compliance requirements upfront.
• Sharing the draft contract with the other party for initial review.

Review & counteroffers

Once the initial offer has been submitted, both parties analyze the contract, suggest changes, and present counteroffers.

What usually happens at this stage?

• Each party carefully reviews terms for risks and opportunities.
• Lawyers, stakeholders, or advisors provide their input—think contract redlining.
• Counteroffers are made on pricing, timelines, clauses, and obligations.
• Negotiators ensure changes align with business goals.

Negotiation

Next—we come to the actual negotiation where both parties engage in discussions to resolve differences and finalize the contract terms.

Here, negotiators (which may be dedicated contract managers or senior team members of different teams, for example sales) mediate discussions between parties to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.

What usually happens at this stage?

• Active listening and discussions to refine contract terms.
• Compromises are exchanged.
• Win-win contract negotiation strategies are prioritized to maintain relationships.
• Lawyers may be involved in addressing legal complexities.

Finalization

Finally, once the goal of the contract and the terms of the contract have been accepted by both parties, a final draft of the contract is created.

Then, the final draft is reviewed carefully before moving to signing and executing the terms of the document.

What usually happens at this stage?

• Final checks ensuring all agreed-upon changes are incorporated.
• Both parties confirm alignment on terms, responsibilities, and expectations.
• The contract is proofread for errors, inconsistencies, or missing clauses.
• Approval is obtained from legal teams and decision-makers.

Signing

Everything has now been discussed, changed, and final terms agreed to, which means it’s now time to actually sign the contract—making it legally binding.

What usually happens at this stage?

• Signatures are obtained from all authorized parties.
• Copies are distributed and safely stored.
• Key stakeholders are informed about their obligations.
• The implementation process begins.

The traditional contract negotiation process: step-by-step overview

Before digital solutions, contract negotiation was a slow, paper-based process involving in-person meetings, phone calls, and physical document exchanges. 

While effective for building strong relationships, it often led to long delays and administrative overhead—especially for any international deal.

Here’s how a traditional contract negotiation typically goes.

Step 1: preparation

Before the negotiation starts, each party must clearly define their goals, needs, and deal-breakers—as we’ve already said when going over the key stages of contract negotiation.

What may be unique to traditional contract negotiations, without using advanced technology is the need to:

• Gather necessary legal and financial documents (often from a physical archive).
• Research the other party’s background and interests—from physical notes or meetings.
• Consult with legal advisors or specialists if needed.

Step 2: initial offer

Going into drafting the initial offer, with traditional negotiations—one party would have to send the draft document, either via:

• Hand delivery (common for local deals).
• Postal mail (for long-distance transactions).
• Fax (historically used, but less common today).

Step 3: review & counteroffers

Once the draft document has been received, the other party:

• Prints and physically marks up the document before returning it.
• Reviews the contract carefully for potential issues.
• Suggests revisions or alternative terms (with handwritten or typed edits).
• Sends the revised contract back via courier, fax, or postal mail.

This back-and-forth can take weeks or even months, depending on the complexity of the document.

Step 4: negotiation

After the review of the initial offer has been completed, it’s time for the actual negotiations, which with traditional methods would happen face-to-face.

In-person meetings were the standard way to finalize terms, often involving:

• Boardroom discussions
• Multiple rounds of offers and counteroffers
• Lawyers and advisors present to ensure legal compliance

If agreements couldn’t be reached in one meeting, parties would:

• Send further letters or memos summarizing discussions.
• Schedule additional meetings or phone calls.

Step 5: finalization

Once the back-and-forth is finished, the meetings held, and both parties agree as to what the final contract should include, it’s time to:

• Draft and print the final version of the contract.
• Send the document to the other party for signing or deliver it in person (unless the final version has been agreed to at a dedicated meeting where both parties could sign it).
• Carefully review the document for any last-minute errors.
• Prepare it for official signing.

Step 6: signing

The parties sign multiple copies of the contract in one of two ways:

• In-person: signatures are placed on the physical document, often in front of witnesses or a notary.
• Mailed documents: if parties are in different locations, signed copies are mailed back and forth for completion.

After signing, the contract is stored in physical file cabinets—creating possible challenges for retrieval and long-term management.

Challenges of traditional contract negotiation

• Time-consuming: paper-based revisions and mailing delays slow the process.
• Error-prone: multiple handwritten edits can lead to confusion.
• Costly: travel, printing, and courier fees add up.
• Limited accessibility: physical documents are harder to track and retrieve.

Is traditional contract negotiation still used, though?

While modern businesses are shifting to digital contract negotiation and e-signatures, traditional methods can still used in high-stakes, relationship-driven industries or cases, such as for legal or government agreements, real estate transactions, or mergers & acquisitions

The switch to more modern solutions is completely, if not more secure, though—even in legally complicated cases.

Take e-signatures as an example. The simplest form of electronic signature to execute, Simple Electronic Signature (SES), can actually be used for signing 90% of business documents.

The online contract negotiation process: step-by-step overview

With the rise of cloud-based document collaboration, traditional contract negotiation has evolved a lot.

Tools like Google Docs, Microsoft 365, and Dropbox make the process faster, more flexible, and accessible from anywhere.

Here’s how a contract negotiation using document-sharing tools will typically go.

Step 1: preparation

Of course, before the negotiation starts, each party should:

• Define their key goals, terms, and non-negotiables.
• Identify who will have editing versus commenting access.
• Ensure all parties are familiar with the collaboration tool being used.

Step 2: initial draft & sharing

Next, one party creates the first draft of the contract, either directly in a cloud-based tool or pasting the document there for sharing.

They then share the document link with other parties, giving appropriate access:

• View only (for reference).
• Comment only (to suggest changes without editing).
• Edit access (for direct changes).

💡Use “suggesting mode” to track edits without overwriting the original document.

Step 3: review & counteroffers

Instead of mailing documents back and forth, now the parties to contract negotiation can:

• Use comments to ask questions or suggest modifications.
• Track changes with built-in version history.
• Highlight key clauses for discussion.
• Tag specific stakeholders for faster input.

This allows for asynchronous collaboration (reviewing at different times) or live negotiations (jumping on a call while editing the document together).

Step 4: negotiation & revisions

Parties continue discussing contract terms via:

• In-document comments & suggestions.
• Emails or instant messaging for quick clarifications.
• Live video meetings (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.) for complex discussions.

If major changes are needed, a new draft version is created, keeping the original as a backup.

Step 5: finalization

Once all revisions are agreed upon, the final contract is drafted and then:

• Reviewed for consistency & errors.
• Converted to a PDF format to prevent further edits.
• Sent for signatures via email.

Step 6: signing & storage

Using just online document sharing tools, like Google Docs, the final stage—signing can now happen via:

• Mailing the document: traditional signing.
• Email inbox: the document is printed, signed, and scanned back.

After signing, the final contract can be saved in cloud storage (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox) for easy access & retrieval.

Challenges of online document negotiation

• Too many hands-on edits: uncontrolled access can lead to confusion.
• Security concerns: unauthorized users may gain access if settings aren’t managed properly.
• Separate signing: still requires signing the document separately.

Is doc sharing the best method for contract negotiation?

For fast, collaborative contract reviews, yes. Especially if you’re short on time in finding a more secure option.

However, it lacks legally binding signing capabilities, so most companies pair it with e-signature platforms to complete the process.

The e-signature contract negotiation process: step-by-step overview

E-signature platforms like Autenti have revolutionized contract execution by reducing paperwork and speeding up the signing process heavily.

Take a look at the TZMO Group, which is an international producer and supplier of medical, hygiene, and cosmetic products—employing nearly 9,000 people and operating across 56 companies globally.

They switched from traditional to electronic signatures and saved 90% of their time finalizing contracts—going from weeks to hours. That’s what effective contract negotiation is.

Step 1: preparation

Before sending a contract for e-signing, both parties should:

• Define key terms, conditions, and expectations.
• Decide which e-signature platform to use.
• Ensure the platform complies with e-signature laws (for example, eIDAS), as well as take appropriate security measures (for example complying with ISO).
• Determine who needs to sign and in what order.

💡Use an e-signature platform with built-in mass-signing to make signing final drafts of many, especially repeating documents, much easier.

Step 2: initial draft

After preparations, the contract is drafted, which you can do with a word processor or use contract management software and then upload to an e-signature tool of choice.

Some tools make that process extra smooth, with:

• Pre-made contract templates for faster negotiations.
• Customizable fields (e.g., signature lines, date fields).
• Multiple file formats (Word, PDF, etc.).

Step 3: reviewing, negotiations, and counter-offers

Unlike Google Docs, e-signature tools focus more on finalizing terms than live collaboration. However, some platforms, like Autenti offer:

• Commenting features for suggesting changes.
• Audit trails to track document edits.
• Integrations with contract lifecycle management (CLM) software for version tracking.

If significant changes are needed, the contract may be edited separately, then re-uploaded for e-signing.

💡With Autenti, you can easily sign already signed documents. For example, with each version change, you’ll simply add new signatures instead of restarting the whole procedure. Each signature comes with exact timestamps and seals, allowing for secure version control.

Step 4: signing

Once the document is finalized, it is sent to all parties for signature via the e-signature platform.

• Each recipient receives a secure link to sign electronically.
• Signers authenticate their identity if necessary (via email, SMS verification, or multi-factor authentication).
• Signatures are applied with a single click, often using a drawn, typed, or uploaded signature.

💡Signing a document with e-signatures is not only easy, though. It’s also extremely secure, often much more than using traditional wet ink signatures. How so? E-signatures use advanced encryption methods to ensure they remain unbreakable and protected from any tampering.

Step 5: storage & future access

Unlike paper contracts, e-signed documents are stored digitally with:

• Automatic backups to prevent loss.
• Searchable records for quick retrieval.
• Audit logs to track who signed and when.

Benefits of e-signature contract negotiation

• Faster turnaround: no need to print, scan, or mail documents, making contract negotiation blazing fast.
• Legally binding: complies with major e-signature laws.
• More secure: encrypted, time-stamped, and tamper-proof for extra secure and ultimately successful contract negotiation.
• Cost-effective: saves money on paper, printing, and postage.
• Remote-friendly: sign from anywhere, on any device.

Is e-signature the best method for contract negotiation?

For businesses that need speed, security, and legal compliance to negotiate a contract, yes. The only challenge remains in choosing the best platform for your needs.

Take Autenti for a free 14-day trial to your online negotiation table and see just how well your next contract negotiation can go.