You use negotiation skills any time you need agreement. That includes scope, deadlines, pricing, headcount, priorities, hiring and compensation. If you want to improve, treat negotiation as a process you can repeat and review.
What is a negotiation?
Business negotiation is a process where two or more parties try to reach an agreement that supports their interests and objectives. It usually involves discussion, trade-offs and a final commitment on terms.
These are three key points you can plan around:
1. You exchange commitments, information and resources
2. You look for mutual gains where they exist
3. You move through a structured back-and-forth that ends in a clear agreement or a clear no-deal
What are the phases of a negotiation?
Most negotiations move through recognizable phases.
1. Preparation: goals, constraints, alternatives, evidence
2. Discussion: share context, ask questions, test assumptions
3. Clarification: identify interests, priorities, decision rules
4. Proposals and signals: offers, counters, reactions, recalibration
5. Exchange: concessions, packaging terms, tightening language
6. Closing and agreement: confirm terms, document, set owners, set timelines
Top 10 negotiation strategies
1) BATNA-first planning
BATNA is your best alternative if you do not reach agreement. It’s the standard you use to judge any offer, and understanding it is key in the art of negotiation.
Use it like this:
– Write your BATNA before you talk
– Improve it if you can (more options, better timing, more information)
– Walk away from deals worse than your BATNA
2) Set a reservation point
Your reservation point is the worst deal you will accept. Decide it in advance. That keeps you from conceding under time pressure. The “walk-away” concept is central to bargaining-range analysis.
Where this shows up at work:
– Vendor renewals
– Internal resourcing
– Role scope and title discussions
– How to negotiate salary conversations
3) Map the ZOPA
ZOPA is the zone where a deal can work for both sides. It exists when your acceptable range overlaps with theirs. If there is no overlap, you are in a no-deal zone unless someone changes constraints or adds value. In international business strategy, ZOPA work often depends on payment terms, delivery risk and regulatory exposure, not just price.
Practical ways to find a ZOPA include:
– Estimate your range using your reservation point
– Estimate theirs using constraints you can verify (budget cycle, policy, capacity, deadlines)
– Ask questions that surface real limits, not preferences
4) Use principled negotiation
Principled negotiation is a strategy built on four moves: separate people from the problem, focus on interests not positions, generate options and use objective criteria. Business ethics are key here, with objective criteria lowering any incentive to misstate facts.
Use it when you need implementation to go smoothly:
– Clarify interests before you argue terms
– Bring benchmarks, standards or precedent when opinions clash
– Document decisions so “agreement” does not fall apart later
5) Make MESOs
MESO means multiple equivalent simultaneous offers. You present more than one package that works for you, then learn what the other side values based on what they choose. Experiments have found that offering choice through MESOs can improve outcomes and create a more cooperative climate.
Use it for:
– Commercial terms (price, timeline, scope, support)
– Internal negotiations (priority, resourcing, deadlines)
– Honing early career business skills, where you want to sound prepared without sounding aggressive
6) Logroll across priorities
Logrolling is trading across issues based on different priorities. You give on what matters less to you and ask for what matters more. This is a great way to negotiate while maintaining social capital – remember people are more lenient when you trade fairly instead of forcing one-sided concessions.
To do it cleanly:
– Rank issues privately before you negotiate
– Ask the other side what they prioritize
– Trade explicitly (“If we do X, we need Y”)
7) Use contingent agreements to handle uncertainty
If you disagree about the future, stop arguing about forecasts. Build terms that change based on outcomes. Legal and negotiation scholarship describes contingent agreements as a way to align incentives and manage uncertainty. If you’re looking to become an entrepreneur, this kind of negotiation skill can go a long way when structuring risk.
Examples that work in business:
– Performance-based pricing tiers
– Delivery incentives and penalties
– Milestone-based scope changes
– Review clauses tied to measurable results
8) Control anchors with evidence
Anchoring is a tactic whereby your opening offer sets a precedent for the rest of the negotiation. So if you’re looking for a higher figure, overshooting significantly sets the tone for your ballpark. The same applies for low figures.
How to use anchoring without harming your relationship:
– Anchor with a rationale you can explain
– Stay within a defensible range
– If their anchor is extreme, ask for the basis before you counter
9) Use bracketing to narrow large gaps
Bracketing is proposing ranges rather than single numbers, often as conditional moves (“I’ll move to X if you move to Y”). It is commonly used to move past impasse and narrow the gap.
This one can be risky, so always keep it disciplined:
– Track the implied midpoint
– Treat brackets as conditional signals, not firm commitments
– Return to objective criteria when the bracket becomes arbitrary
10) Run a post-settlement settlement
A post-settlement settlement is a second pass after you already have an acceptable deal. You keep the current agreement as a fallback, then explore improvements for both sides. The concept is discussed in negotiation research and is often linked to work by Raiffa and Bazerman and coauthors. Use it as a leadership lesson by protecting certainty, then looking for the upside.
How to apply it:
– Confirm the existing deal stands
– Ask whether there is a change that would make it better for both sides
– Adopt the improvement only if both sides prefer it
How to negotiate salary and how to negotiate a raise
If you are searching how to negotiate, salary is usually the first test. Treat it like a structured negotiation, not a personal appeal.
How to negotiate salary
It’s simply a case of putting your negotiation skills into practice with the aforementioned strategies:
– Set your BATNA (other options, timing, role fit)
– Anchor with evidence tied to role scope and market data
– Present more than one acceptable package (base, bonus, review timing, title, flexibility)
Guidance for candidates often emphasizes preparation, making a clear case for value and understanding total compensation, not only base pay. This is how to negotiate on salary without getting stuck on one number.
How to negotiate a raise
Raises are easier to secure when you connect the request to measurable impact and timing. Practical HR guidance also stresses documenting agreements so future reviews do not drift.
Use a contingent agreement when “not now” is the blocker:
– Define outcomes
– Define a date
– Then define the adjustment you will revisit when the outcomes are met
Where the strategy links to leadership, ethics and career growth
Negotiation skills build when you treat each conversation as a repeatable process. You prepare your range, ask questions that surface real constraints and choose negotiation strategies that fit the situation. Over time, you rely less on instinct and more on simple structure that holds up in high-stakes moments.
Good negotiation tactics also make your work easier after the meeting ends. Clear terms reduce rework. Clean negotiation techniques reduce friction between teams. That’s where “winning” becomes practical: decisions move faster because people know what was agreed and what happens next.
If you’re focused on how to negotiate salary, how to negotiate on salary or how to negotiate a raise, the same approach applies. Anchor your ask in evidence, negotiate the full package and stay clear on what you’ll accept. At IE Business School, you develop these skills in real business contexts, with people who will challenge your assumptions and push you to negotiate with clarity, discipline and intent.
Benjamin is the editor of Uncover IE. His writing is featured in the LAMDA Verse and Prose Anthology Vol. 19, The Primer and Moonflake Press. Benjamin provided translation for “FalseStuff: La Muerte de las Musas”, winner of Best Theatre Show at the Max Awards 2024.
Benjamin was shortlisted for the Bristol Old Vic Open Sessions 2016 and the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize 2023.
