Plan B negotiation boosts

Your Plan B is what happens when you get punched in the face during a negotiation. (Figuratively, of course.)

Your Plan B – your "BATNA," the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement – is the best deal you’ll take if your ideal outcome is unattainable.

And since you rarely get what you optimally want in your negotiations, you need to have a strong and calculated Plan B. You’ll be activating your Plan B a lot.

Your Plan B is what will save the negotiation and help you secure a deal, rather than having to walk away.

Today, work on your Plan B for an upcoming negotiation.

1. List everything that would make you yell from the mountain if you got it. That’s your Plan A, and you need to determine it to help you create your B.

2. What would you accept to do a deal? Be specific. Write down as many "gets" as you can dream.

Now that your "gets" are established, what about your "gives"?

Write down all that you can offer that will seal the deal. That’s part of your Plan B too.

You need to watch this fantastic TED Talk by William Ury, one of the world’s most influential experts on negotiating and the cofounder of Harvard’s Program on Negotiation.

Ury makes a solid case that good listening is the foundation to all negotiations. You won’t be able to use your Plan B until you are able to hear what the other side wants!