Negotiation – Trade, Don’t Give

Day 15 of 30 · Build Your Sales – 30 Days to More Deals

Negotiation is scope, risk, and terms. Protect value by trading concessions.

Learning goal

Prepare a concession plan (what you can trade and for what).
Use objective criteria to anchor pricing.
Keep the deal tied to outcomes and risk reduction.

Why it matters

Unplanned discounting trains buyers to push harder.
Trading preserves value and increases commitment.
Good negotiation improves retention (the buyer feels safe, not “sold”).

Explanation

Concession plan

Can trade: term length, start date, payment schedule, scope reduction, pilot.
Must receive: faster decision, reference, multi-year, case study, paid pilot, access to stakeholders.
Never give: core value without compensation.

Guided exercise (10–15 min) — Your trade table

Create a 2-column table: “I can offer” vs “I need in return”.
Add 6 items per column.
Pick your top 3 “go-to trades”.

Independent exercise (5–10 min) — Reframe price

Write 3 sentences that link price to risk reduction and outcome (not features).

Self-check

I have a concession plan.
I trade for commitment, not discounts.
I keep negotiation outcome-focused.