Coaching practices for Improving Agreed Deals

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

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

• We’ve just shaken hands on something we both accepted, but I have this nagging sense the deal isn’t as good as it could be for either of us
• We finally reached a deal, but I have this nagging sense we both grabbed the first version that worked just to be done
• The deal is closed and fine, but I keep negotiating in the dark
• 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
• It’s turned into a pure contest of who’ll budge first, and I hate that whoever caves just loses face

Practices that may help

1. Propose a post-settlement settlement to optimize an agreed deal
   After reaching a deal, offer to see if you can both do better — many agreements leave joint value on the table.
   ZOPA: The Zone of Possible Agreement
2. Use a post-settlement settlement to improve a deal after agreement
   Once you have a deal, offer to keep exploring whether a better one exists for both sides.
   Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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
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. Make the third alternative tangible with a prototype or model
   Turn an abstract third-alternative idea into something both parties can react to together.
   The Third Alternative, Made Practical
8. Insist on objective criteria
   Anchor the deal to independent standards — market rates, precedent, expert opinion — not willpower.
   Getting to Yes: Principled Negotiation
9. Frame proposals as "yesable propositions"
   Make your proposals easy for the counterpart to say yes to — not easy on your terms, but easy to accept as legitimate.
   Principled Negotiation, Made Practical
10. Accompany your final offer with a small non-monetary concession
    Adding a low-cost non-monetary item to your final offer signals genuine limit while giving the counterpart a win.
    The Ackerman Method, Made Practical

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