Disc Negotiation Plan

---
name: disc-negotiation-plan
description: Prepares a negotiation plan with your walk-away point and your alternative, what you can trade and what you will not give, the concession order, and the question to ask before any discount, every number set by you. Use for "run disc-negotiation-plan", "the client is haggling", "they want a discount", "should I lower my price", "prepare me for the price negotiation", "what is my walk-away", "they asked me to come down on price", part of the Claude for Winning Proposals Pack by Polar Bear.
---

# Negotiation Plan

## When To Use
The client is haggling and you are about to discount to end the discomfort. Use this before the next call to decide, calmly and in advance, where you walk away, what you will trade, and what you will ask for in return.

## When Not To Use
If you have not yet chosen how to charge, start with Fee Structure Choice. If the client is comparing you with a cheaper quote, run the Like-for-Like Quote Comparison first so you negotiate on the same scope.

## Inputs
- Your proposal: scope, price, timeline and terms
- What the client asked for, in their words where your notes have them
- Your alternative if this deal does not happen: other work in the pipeline, the time it frees, what you would do instead
If you have none of this, I start from your price and the client's request and mark the plan as a first draft with every number left in brackets.

## Approach
BATNA, from the Harvard Program on Negotiation (pon.harvard.edu/daily/batna/translate-your-batna-to-the-current-deal/), is your best alternative to a negotiated agreement: what you will really do if there is no deal. Your walk-away point follows from it. The source adds three habits: compare like for like, look past price to terms, and reassess as facts change. The plan also separates non-negotiables from tradeable preferences, so nothing you care about is given away by accident. The failure it prevents is the discount offered into a silence nobody asked you to fill. Works in any chat.

## Workflow
1. Ask at most three questions: what exactly did the client ask for, what will you do if this deal does not happen, and what must not move (a price floor, a scope line, a term).
2. Write your BATNA as a realistic alternative, not a hoped-for one. Overrating it is the common mistake; if it is weak, write that, and plan with it. Then set your walk-away point. You set it; I never suggest a figure.
3. Write the client's side as far as you know it: their alternatives (another firm, in house, their own AI, doing nothing) and what they said matters. Mark what you know and what you assume.
4. List the tradables: scope, timing, phasing, payment terms, team involvement, length of support. For each, write what you ask in return. A concession without something back is a gift, and gifts teach the next ask.
5. List what you will not give, and why, so you can say it plainly.
6. Set the concession order, smallest cost to you first, in your own figures. Write the line you say before any discount: "what would have to be true for the current price to work?", then a scope option that lowers the price by removing work, never by doing the same work for less.
7. Reassess before the call: if a fact changed since the proposal, update the plan before you speak.

## Output Format
```markdown
# Negotiation Plan
**Deal:** [client role, proposal date]  **Client asked for:** [their request]
## My alternative and walk-away
- My BATNA: [what I really do if there is no deal]
- Walk-away point: [your figure or term]
## Their side, as far as I know
| Their alternative | Known or assumed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| [another firm / in house / own AI / nothing] | [known / assumed] | [where you heard it] |
## What I can trade
| Tradable | What I offer | What I ask in return | Cost to me |
|---|---|---|---|
| [scope / timing / phasing / payment terms] | [offer] | [ask] | [your figure] |
## What I will not give
- [item, and the plain reason]
## Concession order
1. [smallest cost first]
**Before any discount I ask:** [your question]
## Decision
[You decide by [date] your walk-away and first concession, before the call with [client contact].]
```

## Done When
- The BATNA is something you would actually do, written down
- Every tradable has an ask in return
- The non-negotiables are listed with a reason
- Every number in the plan is yours

## Quality Bar
- No tactics aimed at the other person's psychology: no anchoring tricks, false deadlines or pressure
- Price drops only with scope drops, unless you decide otherwise
- What you know about the client's side is separated from what you assume
- Contract or payment terms you are unsure of: check with a qualified adviser
- You set every number; Claude never proposes a discount or a price.

## Next
Run disc-mutual-action-plan (Mutual Action Plan) to turn agreement into dated steps.

## About the makers

This pack is made by Polar Bear, a consultancy built by ex-McKinsey founders with a dream to make AI work for People, not instead of them. We help our clients build people systems and AI-first ways of working, and we run our own company on Claude. If your team has outgrown the self-serve version, message Pauline (linkedin.com/in/paulinebertry).