Negotiation glossary
The key terms of sales negotiation, defined simply and in the sense we use them in training and coaching. To see how they fit together when preparing a negotiation, see our page on sales negotiation training.
A break requested during a negotiation to confer, recalculate or step back. Used well, it prevents concessions made under pressure, and asking for one often takes assertiveness.
The three reference points of a prepared negotiation: the opening, the deal you are aiming for, and the point below which you would rather fall back on your best alternative.
The first figure put on the table in a negotiation, which then serves as a reference point for both parties. Whoever anchors first, with a well-argued figure, shapes the range in which the deal will be struck.
Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement: what you will do if there is no deal. Your BATNA sets your walk-away point; the buyer’s is often another supplier, or the status quo. It should be worked out before every sales negotiation.
Everyone who influences a B2B purchasing decision: the user, the budget holder, the technical approver, the person who can block it. Each of them asks their own questions, often when you are not in the room.
What you agree to give up to move the deal forward: price, lead time, volume, payment terms, included services. Every concession should be priced before it goes on the table.
A priced record of everything given and obtained over the course of a negotiation. It stops a colleague from starting from scratch and conceding the same thing twice to the same client. It is one of the tools used in negotiation coaching.
A listening technique borrowed from crisis negotiators: name what the other person seems to be feeling (“It sounds like the timing is worrying you”), then stay silent. It brings out what has not been said.
A listening technique: repeating the other person’s last few words in a questioning tone, to invite them to say more.
Everything that can be part of the exchange besides price: contract length, volumes, lead times, payment, training, guarantees. The longer the list, the easier it is to trade what costs you little for what is worth a lot.
Selling convinces the client that your solution meets their need. Negotiation starts once they are convinced and the terms have to be agreed. Negotiating too early means discussing the price of value that has not yet been established. Establishing that value is the purpose of Value Drive.
What you get in exchange for a concession. The basic rule: nothing is given without something in return, otherwise the other party learns that all they have to do is ask.
Changing nothing. It is often the buyer’s real alternative, far more often than a competitor: according to Forrester (2024), 86% of B2B purchases stall along the way.
The limit beyond which a party leaves the table. Yours follows from your BATNA; the buyer’s can be estimated by working out theirs.
Zone Of Possible Agreement: the range where your limits and the other party’s overlap. Without a ZOPA, no concession will save the deal, and the terms of the exchange have to change. ZOPA is covered in Negotiate Smart.
Discover our methodology
An important negotiation to prepare? Contact us for an initial 30-minute conversation.