One of the many ways that a negotiation can be intentionally or unwittingly anchored is through the sales process.  For example, if in the sales process you've done a great job of anchoring on selling the total value of your company's solution to the customer, in all likelihood that's the kind of package you'll end up negotiating.  On the other hand, if in the sales process you've only called on the lowest-level purchasing agent, and she's been pushing hard for you to offer them the lowest price, price is most likely what you'll end up negotiating.  The old adage "You negotiate what you sell" is true.  The quality of the sales process does have an impact on how easy or difficult the negotiation is.

An anchor is a starting point for one aspect of a negotiation or, in some instances, an entire negotiation.  An anchor can be true or false, appropriate or inappropriate, in any given negotiation.* Nevertheless, only anchors that are both true and appropriate can be beneficial to both you and your customer, as only such anchors will enable you to create value.