Negotiation: trading concessions, not giving them away
For account executives, account managers and customer success managers who already know the basics in 'Negotiation basics' and now handle renewals and larger deals. You'll work out your walk-away point from your real alternatives, build a list of things to trade, respond to a first offer that anchors low, put several issues together in conditional proposals and record exactly what was traded and who approved it. It draws on public articles from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School; the examples use a fictional managed service provider (MSP). Your company's discount authority and contract approval rules always take priority.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 84 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Calculate your walk-away point from your best alternative to a deal
- Build a trade list that ranks each issue by its cost to you and its value to the customer
- Choose a response to a first offer or anchor that protects your position
- Write conditional proposals that package several issues together
- Record each concession, what you received for it and who approved it
Course outline
- 1.Calculating your walk-away point from your best alternativeLesson · 15 min
- 2.Building a trade list: cost to you, value to themLesson · 15 min
- 3.Responding to first offers and anchorsLesson · 14 min
- 4.Writing conditional proposals that package several issuesLesson · 15 min
- 5.Recording each concession, what you received and who approved itLesson · 11 min
- 6.Negotiation: trading concessions, not giving them away: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 13 questions
- 7.Negotiation: trading concessions, not giving them away: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School: What is BATNA? Translate your BATNA to the current deal
- Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School: Negotiation preparation strategies
- Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School: Expanding the pie: integrative versus distributive bargaining
- Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School: What is anchoring in negotiation?
- Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School: Value creation in negotiation: capitalize on multiple issues
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.