Negotiating Partnerships: Increase profits and reduce risks

How much do all the mistakes cost?

The studies show that only two-thirds of all negotiators land a deal, and then even one where they lose, on average, around 40 per cent of the overall negotiation potential. This potential consists of unutilized yet realizable added value which would have enabled the parties to get more out of the transaction without the opponent feeling like the loser. In this potential we will certainly find part of the added value which negotiators envisage when they calculate great merger gains. An added value which never will be realized now and which contributes to the failure of the majority of all major mergers.

The question of how much all the mistakes cost is impossible to answer. By looking at one single instance ...