Personal-use template. Not legal, financial, or professional advice. Calculator outputs are estimates from inputs you provide.
Free Module 01 of 13
BATNA Worksheet — your real leverage
Your BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) is what happens if no deal is reached. Knowing it precisely is the single biggest source of leverage in any negotiation.
The 4-question BATNA worksheet
Question
Your answer
Best alternative if this deal fails
______
Probability that alternative materialises (0–100%)
______
Value of that alternative ($ or equivalent)
______
Action this week to strengthen BATNA
______
Their BATNA (estimate)
Question
Estimate
Their best alternative
______
Probability (%)
______
Value to them
______
What weakens their BATNA?
______
The asymmetry rule: the side with the stronger BATNA gets the better deal. Your strategy starts with strengthening your BATNA before the conversation.
Free Module 02 of 13
Anchor Design — the 3-part anchor
The first number changes the rest of the conversation. Anchor first, anchor at the edge of plausible, and anchor with reasoning.
The 3 parts
The number — at the edge of plausible, not the edge of reasonable.
The justification — 2–3 specific reasons (data, comparable, value).
The connection to value — what they get for that number, not just what you want.
Anchor templates
Situation
Anchor template
Salary
"Based on [data] and the scope of [responsibilities], I was hoping to land in the [$X–$Y] range."
Selling a service
"Engagements in [scope] typically run [$X–$Y]. Given [your situation], I'd propose [$Z]."
Buying
"I've seen comparable [items] sell around [$X]. Given [factor], I could get to [$Y]."
Vendor renewal
"Looking at our usage and what's available now, I'm proposing we reset at [$X]."
When NOT to anchor first: when you have less information about market price than they do, when the relationship matters more than the number, or when you suspect they'll throw a number wildly favorable to you.
Free Module 03 of 13
Walk-Away Calculator
Translate your BATNA into a hard number — the price (or terms) below which you walk. Decide it before; defend it during.
Walk-away (single-issue)
Once set, never break it in the room. If it's the right number, the deal that violates it is worse than no deal. Take a break, sleep on it, come back. Never break a walk-away under time pressure.
Get the full 13-module Negotiation Mastery
You just saw 3 modules. The full $77 system has 10 more — including ZOPA mapping, the multi-issue tradeoff scorer (JS), the salary negotiation playbook, difficult conversation prep, counter-offer calculator (JS), concession strategy, negotiation diary, tactics library & counters, annual review, and principles.