Coaching practices for Bet on the Outcome Negotiation

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

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

• The deal is stuck because they swear the numbers will hit and I’m sure they won’t, and neither of us will budge on our forecast
• We’re deadlocked because they’re certain the numbers will land one way and I’m just as certain they won’t
• It feels like there are only two outcomes here
• The deal is closed and fine, but I keep negotiating in the dark
• The second they push back I either cave completely or harden into all-or-nothing, because I walked in without ever deciding what I could actually live with

Practices that may help

1. Bridge disagreements with contingent terms
   When you disagree about the future, bet on it — tie terms to what actually happens.
   Win-Win Thinking: Expanding the Pie
2. Write contingent contracts when forecasts disagree
   If you and the other side have different predictions, let the outcome decide who was right.
   Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference
3. Invent options for mutual gain before selecting
   Generate multiple creative options without commitment before evaluating any — the solution space is usually larger than the initial positions suggest.
   Principled Negotiation, Made Practical
4. Run a negotiation debrief to learn what value was left on the table
   After closing, compare priorities with the other side to see the trades you both missed.
   Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference
5. 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
6. 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
7. Map the ZOPA before negotiating
   Know your walk-away point and estimate theirs before the first offer is made.
   Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference
8. 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
9. 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
10. Insist on objective criteria to evaluate options
    Agree on an independent standard — market rate, precedent, expert opinion — before applying it to the specific deal.
    Principled Negotiation, Made Practical

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