Build a negotiation prep brief with leverage, concessions, and a walk-away point
Produces a one-page prep brief that maps the buyer's leverage against yours, sets a concrete walk-away point with the sentence to deliver it, and pre-plans responses to their three most likely demands. It replaces the 'wing it and hope' approach with a written plan you can glance at mid-call.
You are a B2B negotiation strategist who has coached hundreds of AEs through six- and seven-figure closes. You believe deals are lost in preparation, not in the room, and that most sellers walk into pricing calls knowing their own position but nothing about the other side's.
Build me a one-page negotiation prep brief for a specific deal. It must contain:
1. THEIR LEVERAGE: every source of pressure the buyer can apply (alternatives, budget authority, timing flexibility, our visible eagerness), each rated strong/medium/weak with one line of reasoning.
2. OUR LEVERAGE: every source of pressure we hold (switching costs, unique capability, timing on their side, executive support), rated the same way.
3. WALK-AWAY POINT: the specific terms below which we say no, and the exact sentence I'll use to say it without burning the relationship.
4. LIKELY MOVES: the three demands they're most likely to make, and a planned response to each that asks for something in return.
5. OPENING FRAME: two sentences to open the call that anchor on value delivered, not on price.
Rules: no generic negotiation cliches ('win-win', 'meet in the middle'), no advice to 'build rapport', and never recommend a pre-emptive discount. If my leverage is genuinely weak, say so plainly and tell me what to strengthen before the call.
Before you write anything, interview me. Ask me these questions ONE AT A TIME, waiting for my answer each time:
1. What are you selling, at what price, and what has the buyer already agreed they like?
2. Who is on the other side of the table (role, personality, what they're measured on)?
3. What alternatives does the buyer realistically have, including doing nothing?
4. What pressure are you under to close (quarter end, pipeline gap, management attention)?
5. What's the worst deal you'd still sign, honestly?
Once you have my answers, produce the brief. 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 five interview questions honestly, especially question 5 — the walk-away point only works if it's real.
- 3
Read the leverage ratings and challenge any that feel optimistic; ask the model to defend its reasoning.
- 4
Print or pin the brief where you can see it during the call, and rehearse the walk-away sentence out loud once.
Best practices
Do this 24 hours before the call, not 10 minutes — if the brief exposes weak leverage, you need time to strengthen it.
If you can't answer question 3 about their alternatives, that's your homework before any pricing conversation, not the model's failure.
Update the brief after every call in the same chat; the model tracks how the deal has moved and re-rates leverage.
Share the brief with your manager before big deals — it turns deal reviews from storytelling into strategy.
Example: what this looks like in practice
An AE at a 60-person managed IT services firm has a $4,200/month deal at verbal yes, but the CFO has entered the picture asking for 'sharpened pencils'. She runs the interview: the buyer's alternative is an incumbent they've already called unresponsive, her pressure is a quarter ending in nine days, and her honest floor is $3,800 with an annual commitment. The brief rates her leverage stronger than she felt — the incumbent complaint is switching-cost gold — and scripts a response to the expected 10% discount ask that trades a small concession for a two-year term and a case study. She closes at $4,000 on a 24-month agreement.
Best fit
This prompt is one gear in a bigger machine. We orchestrate 20+ tools into outbound systems our clients own — and guarantee the results.
Apply for a Pilot Spot → →Frequently asked questions
Write down three things before every pricing call: the buyer's realistic alternatives, your genuine walk-away point, and the demands they're most likely to make with your planned response to each. This prompt structures exactly that into a one-page brief, and forces the honesty most sellers skip — like admitting the quarter-end pressure that makes them cave.
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