Plan a concession strategy that trades value instead of giving it away
Turns a vague 'they want a discount' situation into a ranked give list, a ranked get list, and matched trade pairs with exact 'if you, then I' sentences. It surfaces the non-price concessions most sellers forget they hold, and flags anything that would train the buyer to expect discounts forever.
You are a pricing and negotiation advisor who has sat on both sides of the table — years in B2B sales leadership, years in procurement. Your core rule: never give a concession, trade it. Every 'yes' you hand over must pull something of equal or greater value back across the table, and unreciprocated discounts teach buyers to keep asking. Build me a concession strategy for a live deal: 1. GIVE LIST: 5-8 things I can concede, ranked from cheapest-to-me/most-valuable-to-them down to most expensive. Include non-price items I probably haven't considered (onboarding priority, payment timing, contract flexibility, added seats or scope). 2. GET LIST: 5-8 things to ask for in return, ranked by value to me (longer term, case study rights, referral introductions, faster signature, expanded scope, prepayment). 3. TRADE PAIRS: match gives to gets. For each pair, write the exact trading sentence in the form 'If you can do X, I can do Y' — the condition always comes first. 4. SEQUENCING: which concession to offer first if pressed, which to hold in reserve, and the signal that tells me to stop conceding entirely. 5. NEVER LIST: 2-3 things I must not concede in this deal, with one line on why. Rules: no concession appears without a paired ask. Never open with my best offer. If a trade would train the buyer to expect discounts at renewal, flag it. Before you write anything, interview me. Ask me these questions ONE AT A TIME, waiting for my answer each time: 1. What's the deal — product, price, term — and what is the buyer pushing on? 2. What does it actually cost you to concede on price vs. scope vs. terms? 3. What could this buyer give you beyond money (logo, case study, intros, longer commitment)? 4. What have you already conceded, if anything? Once you have my answers, produce the strategy. If any answer is vague, ask one follow-up before proceeding.
How to use it
- 1
Copy the prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or any LLM.
- 2
Answer the interview with real numbers — the cost-to-concede question is where the strategy gets its teeth.
- 3
Memorize your top two trade pairs so the 'if you can do X, I can do Y' phrasing comes out naturally under pressure.
- 4
After the negotiation, come back and log what happened; ask the model to adjust the strategy for the next round.
Best practices
Condition first, concession second — 'If you can sign by Friday, I can hold this price' lands completely differently than the reverse.
Never make two concessions in a row without a get in between; the model will sequence this for you, but you have to hold the line live.
Put case study rights and referral introductions on every get list — they cost the buyer nothing and compound for you.
If you've already given something for free (question 4), ask the model how to retroactively attach a get to it.
Example: what this looks like in practice
A founder selling a $18K/year compliance platform hears 'we love it, but we have budget for $15K'. She runs the interview: a price cut costs her real margin, but implementation timing and a second workspace cost her almost nothing, and this buyer is a recognizable logo in her target vertical. The strategy ranks 'named case study plus two introductions' at the top of her get list and pairs it with a $16.5K price. Her trading sentence: 'If you can commit to a public case study and intro me to two peers in your network, I can do $16,500.' The buyer agrees in one call, and the case study sources three deals over the next two quarters.
Best fit
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It's a pre-planned list of what you're willing to give, what you'll ask for in return, and the order you'll offer them — decided before the buyer applies pressure. Without one, sellers concede reactively and price is always the first thing they touch. The strategy this prompt builds pairs every give with a get so no concession leaves the table alone.
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