"without realizing it, many companies have systematically taught their customers the art of blackmail."* When we approach business negotiations by tactically reacting to customers' requests, by merely giving in because they ask us to do so, seemingly disparate transactions have the effect of "rolling upward" and defining our negotiation strategy.  We teach the maketplace, our customers and our competitors, who we are based on the deals we do.  By rolling over in negotiations, we run into several problems:

In fact, after completing negotiation training, negotiators "highly effective" rating jumps to a whopping 6.8%!!! (makes you want to run right out and sign up for one of those courses advertised in the airline magazines, doesn't it?).

It's not unusual to see situations in which neither side has a clear idea of what they really want out of a business negotiation beyond one or two simple items. When people are asked about their negotiation goals, a great many state they have no goals at all.  This is, at least in part, because they approach negotiation with a tactical rather than a strategic mind-set and, as a result, are much more concerned with figuring out how to get there than with where they want to go.  This is a problem because, among other things, not knowing where you want to go can make it very difficult - if not impossible - to get there!

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.

In the vast majority of organizations, every negotiation is seen as zero-based and different from every other negotiation.  But, on a basic level, all business negotiations ultimately follow the same blueprint:

There's an element of creativity involved when you broaden the business deal and clarify the "it" you are negotiating.  A world-class salesperson looks for avenues to add value to the deal being negotiated.   

The past 30 years have been an exciting time in the field of business negotiation.  We moved past the era of "win-lose" negotiations training and beyond the simplicity of "win-win" messages.  Leading thinkers in negotiation now realize that it is critical to think simultaneously about creating value and claining your share.

What does your company really sell?  Technically speaking, Ferrari sells cars.  But the Ferrari brand is all about ego, luxury, money, status, cachet, etc.  If the B2B street fighter is marked by any one skill, value or trait, it is courage.  Courage colors every moment of a street fighter's waking life.  It's not just how she acts under pressure; it's how she acts all day, every day, whether she's under the microscope or, more importantly, when no one is looking.

Why do you need a negotiation strategy?  This question relates to the motivation for developing a strategy in the first place, that is, the reason for wanting to make a change.  Often the term "strategy" spawns nebulous phrases or written statements that get tucked away in a boardroom somewhere, never to be heard from again.  Your goal is just the opposite:  keep it simple, actionable and clear that the cure is not worse than the disease.