Negotiation Preparation Canvas

Description
Most indirect negotiations are lost before anyone sits down, and they are lost in a specific way: the buyer has a target, no walk-away, a vague sense of the alternative, and a list of things they are willing to give without a matching list of what they will ask for in return.

This canvas fixes that in about forty minutes. It forces the four things that decide the outcome to exist in writing before the meeting. Every issue carries an opening, a target and a walk-away. Your alternative is described in one sentence, scored for credibility, and timed against the runway you actually have — because an alternative that cannot conclude before the notice deadline is not leverage, and the supplier can check the calendar as easily as you can.

The concession ladder is the part people skip. Each row states what you give, what you ask for in return, and when to play it. A row with something in the first column and nothing in the second is not a concession; it is a gift, and the sheet is designed to make that visible.

The readiness check then calculates a verdict from what you entered, across four tests. It will tell you no. That is the point of it.

The second sheet scores ten sources of leverage, weighted, and tells you what a low score on each one means and what to do about it. In most indirect negotiations the three worth fixing are consumption data, internal alignment and runway — none of which are about the price.

Free, unlocked, no password, yours to adapt.