Monday, December 12, 2011

Ali Rey Talks About Negotiation


Ali Rey is a young woman that owns her own video production company called Ali Rey Productions. The company specializes in motion graphics and post-editing. I interviewed her because she is experienced in the industry and is doing some of the same things that I hope to one day pursue.

Before she can ever do any work for a client, she negotiates with them the details and terms of the work that will be performed. After the negotiation process is through, she drafts up the final contract so everything is clearly stated and understood. Ever the urban professional, Ali Rey writes the contracts herself liking “to look at other contracts sometimes to make sure no useful clauses are being left out”. In the contracts that Ali Rey drafts, she always includes the price, whether or not she will be paid royalties, and some type of liability protection for the company. Also included in the contract, the client must agree to let her use any of the work that she does in any portfolio that she wants, including her website www.alireyproductions.com.

I asked her if she can use any content on her website as objective criteria in the negotiating process? She responded “There is a special promotional that I offer to certain music artists if they show interest. This is where I work with artists who don’t have a huge budget and I do some promotion for them, in exchange for marketing opportunities instead of paying me any up front money. What they get is the opportunity to get exposure, and set themselves apart with better media than other independent artist for free at first. But I make them sign a contract that allows Ali Rey Productions to get a large percentage of what they make down the line. So the objective criteria would be the initial free production work”. Her website also allows her clients to view her work and request information. “The negotiating comes once I speak with them. The website lets the client know what to expect, and I can refer to the material on my website when giving examples of what I offer. But everyone has specific needs, and usually what needs to be negotiated are the prices and they are not posted on my website at this time.” Ali Rey is truly a woman that knows what she is doing.

Being in the entertainment business has allowed Ali Rey to learn a thing or two about the negotiation process. She never lets people use intimidation against her as a tactic in the negotiation process. If she feels that it’s not worth her time to continue negotiating then it’s just not worth her time and the negotiating ceases. Asked about some of the problems negotiating and how do you separate the person from the problem, Ali Rey said, “I just focus on my ultimate goal, which is getting hired. I try to see what the person or business wants, maybe something they are not saying, and persuade them with whatever is most important to them”. She goes on to note “If a client becomes too frustrating before any contracts are signed I will sometimes decide not to work with them”.  However, Ali Rey seeks mutual benefit in all of her deals and negotiations. She wants everybody to win in every deal that she does. “Everybody winning would include the client being charged a fair price,” says Ali Rey, “my company being paid, and the product to be good quality. This is what I hope for in every deal”.

With her passion, effort, and talent, I am sure that we will be hearing much more of her in the future and this is just the beginning for Ali Rey.

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