Coaching practices for Add Issues Negotiation

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Add Issues Negotiation, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

  • We’re completely deadlocked on the one number
  • The whole thing has collapsed down to one number and we’re just staring each other down over price, so whatever I gain they lose
  • There are several things on the table here, and some matter way more to me than others
  • Every time I push back on the terms it somehow turns into them feeling attacked, and then we’re fighting about us instead of the actual issue
  • We’re haggling issue by issue, splitting the difference on each one, and it’s leaving us both worse off

Practices that may help

  1. Expand the ZOPA by adding issues to the negotiation
    When you’re stuck on a single issue, adding more issues often creates room for trades that satisfy both sides.
    ZOPA: The Zone of Possible Agreement
  2. Add issues to expand the pie
    Bring more variables in — timing, scope, future work — so there’s more to trade.
    Win-Win Thinking: Expanding the Pie
  3. Logroll by trading issues of unequal importance
    Concede on what matters less to you in exchange for gains on what matters more.
    Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference
  4. Separate the people from the problem
    Address relationship concerns and substantive issues in different registers — treating people well and the problem hard.
    Principled Negotiation, Made Practical
  5. Trade across issues where each side has different priorities
    Give the counterpart what they care most about; get what you care most about — logrolling is only possible when interests differ.
    Interests vs. Positions: The Core of Integrative Negotiation
  6. Negotiate: know your minimum and be willing to give and take
    Decide in advance what you are willing to accept short of your full ask, and be ready to offer something in exchange.
    DEAR MAN: DBT’s Skill for Asking for What You Want Effectively
  7. Separate the people from the problem
    Be hard on the problem, soft on the people — attack the issue, not each other.
    Getting to Yes: Principled Negotiation
  8. Trade across differing priorities
    Give on what you value less to get what you value more — and have them do the same.
    Win-Win Thinking: Expanding the Pie
  9. Make multiple equivalent simultaneous offers (MESOs)
    Propose several package deals of equal value to you — see which the other side prefers.
    Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference
  10. Probe for interests, not positions
    Ask why the other side wants what they say they want before responding to what they say.
    Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference

Related concerns

Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.

Practice this with IX Coach

Try this practice