So, my PCs are going to be doing some lobbying/negotiating with a corporation for a big contract but they aren't going to be the only ones trying to close the deal. Each of the three groups will get a chance to state their case to the corporation board to try to win. What I am thinking is have the first group make a Hard Negotiation check. The results of the roll will effect the next group's Negotiation roll, representing how well they did or did not impress the board with their presentation. The 2nd group's results will effect the 3rd group's. After all three have met with the board, the group that had the worst results is eliminated and the other two will get a second attempt. How does this sound to you? Fair? balanced? Overly complicated?

As far as the results effecting the next rolls I was thinking something like:

Success would mean an upgrade in difficulty for the next group's check.

Advantage would give Setback die to the next group's check

Failure would mean the next group can upgrade one of their greens to a yellow

Disadvantage would give Boost dice to the next group

Thoughts? Tweeks? Suggestions?

I just do a competitive check between all the groups against whomever they are bargaining with.

I'm not sure negotiation is the go-to skill in this case. Negotiation is all about getting the best price possible in a party-to-party transaction. However, adding a third and fourth party to the equation fundamentally changes it into something else. I'd use other skills to determine where the other parties stand (what their limitations are, what their goals are, what their resources are). I'd then use something like Coercion or Charm to establish a relationship with the central party with whom all the other parties are looking to deal. Once that's determined, the "negotiation" is mostly over as the terms depend on almost everything else other than the negotiation roll.

For example, the Empire is taking bids for construction work on a new mining laser platform they're putting together somewhere in the Galactic South... While price (negotiation) is always a factor, the relationship between the Moff in charge of the construction and the potential contractors, the security capabilities of the contractors and the dedication of the contractors to the Cause are all more important than price. None of those other factors is even remotely related to the Negotiation skill, so I'd suggest having party members other than the Face working on finding out these other factors (and adjusting them in their favor) while the Face works on schmoozing the decision makers.