Concept
Leverage
Leverage in a negotiation is not who is bigger but who wants the deal more and who has more to lose if it collapses, which means it usually belongs to the side that understands the other's wants, fears and deadlines.
Chris Voss, drawing on his years as the FBI's lead international kidnapping negotiator, strips leverage of its mystique in Never Split the Difference. It is not a fixed asset you bring to the table but an assessment of pressure: what the other side needs, what they are afraid of, and when they need it by. Whoever has mapped those three lists holds the leverage, whatever the size of the companies involved. What people get wrong is assuming leverage comes from a strong position or a loud voice. It comes from information, and most of it is available before the meeting to anyone who asks the right questions and listens.
A real-life example
A freelancer negotiating with a large agency assumes he has no leverage. Then he learns the agency's client presentation is in nine days and two other designers have declined. The agency needs him more than he needs them this week, and his calm, unhurried rate holds without a single argument.
How to use it
- 1Before the meeting, write the other side's three lists: what they want, what they fear, what deadlines they face.
- 2Mark the one item they can least afford to lose, and frame your proposal around it.
- 3Never threaten with leverage you would not use; a threat you will not carry out is a bluff, and bluffs get called.