Coaching practices for Price Pact

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Price Pact, 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
  • When we’re going back and forth on the price I just keep bumping my number up by the same chunk each time to keep things moving, and I can’t tell whether I’m signaling I’ve still got plenty of room to give.
  • I can’t get a read on what the other side actually cares about most
  • We’re completely deadlocked on the one number

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. Use the Ackerman bid sequence: 65%–85%–95%–100% of target
    Make four calculated offers that converge on your target with shrinking steps — each concession signals you are approaching your limit.
    The Ackerman Method, Made Practical
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. ZOPA: The Zone of Possible Agreement
    ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement) is the range of outcomes that both parties would prefer to reaching no deal at all. If one party’s minimum acceptable term is better than the other’s maximum acceptable, a ZOPA exists and a deal is theoretically reachable. If there is no overlap, no mutually acceptable deal is possible and negotiators are wasting time pursuing one.
  7. Map the likely ZOPA before the first session
    Estimate both your own and the counterpart’s reservation points before you open, so you know what deal space exists.
    ZOPA: The Zone of Possible Agreement
  8. Share information to unlock value
    Reveal interests (not your bottom line) so both sides can find the better deal.
    Win-Win Thinking: Expanding the Pie
  9. 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
  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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