The Negotiation Book: Your Definitive Guide To Successful Negotiating

9.3. THE SIX PRIMARY VARIABLES

In most negotiations there are six primary variables that tend to feature, which can be used to broaden out the scope of the agreement. This helps to capture all the issues that are likely to affect the total value of your agreements. Once defined, you can then consider the consequences of performance around each of these variables. During your planning this also provides you with the opportunity to introduce a range of conditions linked to each variable. These six variables apply across any type of deal from business to politics:

1. Price, fee or margin (how much will be paid).

2. Volume (how many, how much, or what types).

3. Delivery (when, where, response times).

4. Contract period (when it will start, how long it will run for, under what circumstances it will or can be terminated, when it will be reviewed etc).

5. Payment terms (when, how, currency etc).

6. Specification (what product, service or agreement will include, the quality or how it will be supported).

9.3.1.

9.3.1.1. 1. Price, fee or margin

You can also build agreements which feature differing pricing structures. These can be linked to issues such as:

• the purpose for which the product or service is to be used;

• geography (regional pricing to be used and by whom);

• relationship loyalty.

They should also be linked directly to the other five primary variables.

When you negotiate price without linking to other variables, the transparency involving 'what I get you lose and what you get, I lose' will usually result ...