Contract Negotiations.

[HoganKnowsLeast]

When negotiating a new contract is it better to offer less cash upfront and more incentives or vice versa?

 

I'm currently running the Clash 1994 mod as WCW in Owner mode so cash flow isn't a problem right now. I was just curious what the common approach is for most people.

[Bigpapa42]

Depends on what those incentives are and how much they will cost in the long run. Remember that workers ask for raises as their popularity goes up. So managing to get their salary down on the initial deal is great at that point, but unless their are not going to gain further popularity, they will be asking for raises and turning those down can cause issues.

[smartman]

I'm not sure if it is the case in 16 as I stopped giving those perks out unless absolutely necessary, but in previous versions, those perks spread like a cancer so if you offered it to one or two people, everyone started demanding them.

[Remianen]

I don't offer any incentives unless absolutely necessary (for the reason that smartman noted). The only incentive I give is with a specific role, and that's usually only for non-wrestlers ("never involve in-ring work", "used exclusively as a manager/referee/color commentator etc"). Also, because of the pay raise feature, I lowball EVERYBODY since I know when their value rises, they'll ask for a salary commensurate with that value.

[HoganKnowsLeast]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Remianen" data-cite="Remianen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43861" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I don't offer any incentives unless absolutely necessary (for the reason that smartman noted). The only incentive I give is with a specific role, and that's usually only for non-wrestlers ("never involve in-ring work", "used exclusively as a manager/referee/color commentator etc"). Also, because of the pay raise feature, I lowball EVERYBODY since I know when their value rises, they'll ask for a salary commensurate with that value.</div></blockquote> <p> </p><p> What about when you get into a bidding war? That's been happening to me a lot.</p>

[Remianen]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="HoganKnowsLeast" data-cite="HoganKnowsLeast" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43861" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>What about when you get into a bidding war? That's been happening to me a lot.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> So far, in my current save (June 2017), I've been in several bidding wars:</p><p> </p><p> USPW (Missy Masterson, Tiffany Jade)</p><p> SWF (Emmy, BJ O'Neill)</p><p> 21CW (Kathleen Lee)</p><p> NOTBPW (Sally Anne Christianson)</p><p> </p><p> From my experience, it's been the same story with all of them: I offer more money, I win. The AI isn't smart. It tries to counter exactly what you offer. In fact, it's so predictable, you can "poison" a competing promotion by giving ridiculous incentives to their workers which forces them to counter and then you back out at the last moment. For example, creative control, hiring veto, wage matching and a crazy bonus percentage per event. The AI, more often than not, will counter your offer (and beat it) and "win" the bidding war. But now they've got a really bad contract on their books. I fed one to SWF in the form of Jessie. I knew she'd never leave her husband AND her sister so I made a ridiculous offer and SWF countered and now she has creative control, hiring veto, wage matching, and an $18,000 per year salary (no female non-wrestler outside of my company, Victoria Stone-McFly, and Jessie even makes $8,000 a year). And there's a good chance that other people are going to ask for the same sweetheart deal when their contracts come up.</p><p> </p><p> Decide what you're willing to pay for a worker and offer that (or slightly less) from the beginning. The AI will counter and often show their hand. Workers value the TOP LINE more than the little extras, for the most part. They want guarantees, not 'what ifs'. That per year salary is more important than X% of Y per event. Really over workers might demand creative control but that's up to you to decide whether to give it. I've found that more money per year often counters a CC request. And because I'm superstitious, I often make sure workers up for contract renewals are 'happy with their recent booking' to possibly stave off the request.</p>