Eskelin Technology

I’m convinced that leverage is the most significant factor in determining the outcome of a negotiation. Mastering leverage is an art. The negotiator who understands leverage, can identify it accurately, and can use it to their advantage will often beat the more skilled and experienced negotiator.

Your goal as a negotiator is to know the reality of who has the leverage and then create the perception in the mind of your opponent that you have all the leverage. One way to do this is to explore the factors that determine leverage in a negotiation. I have identified 15 factors that play a role in determining who has the leverage advantage in a negotiation.

1. Time: who has a greater incentive to complete the deal rapidly?
2. Competition: competition can be one of the most effective ways to generate leverage in a negotiation.
3. Marketability: who is more marketable as a customer, supplier, or partner?
4. Opportunity: who has more to gain in the long-term if the deal is completed?
5. Investment: who has more invested in completing the deal?
6. Environment: home field advantage?
7. Information: how much do you know about your opponent and how much do you control what they know about you?
8. Need: who needs the deal more?
9. Importance: how important is the deal to your opponent and their company?
10. Pressure: how much pressure is your opponent getting from their management to complete the deal and how can you help to increase that pressure?
11. Composure: who is more composed emotionally and who is controlling the agenda in the negotiation?
12. Precedence: what negotiating precedence has been set in past negotiations with your opponent and what precedents are you setting for future negotiations?
13. Emotions: how are fear, greed, and pride part of the negotiation?
14. Limitation: what are the true limitations and perceived limitations for each term in the negotiation?
15. Policy: what policies does your opponent have to operate within and how can you use policies to your advantage?

Determining who has the leverage in a negotiation (by considering each of these 15 factors) will put you in a better position to strategize ways to generate leverage and perception of leverage. To learn more about these 15 factors that determine leverage in a negotiation, check out my white paper on the topic:

Negotiating Leverage: 15 Factors that Determine Positional Advantage (pdf)