COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID

• Preparing CNA questions that are too direct, such as “What do you see as my competitor’s main weakness?” Rather, soften the questions by asking them in two or three less direct ways.

Thus far you have developed a goal to “create joint value and divide it given concern for fairness in the ongoing relationship,” conducted Consequences of No Agreement and Wish List Estimations for both sides in the negotiation, and started to validate or improve your estimates by using public sources, asking questions of colleagues, and preparing to solicit information in a meeting with your customer. That meeting, which is the last part of the validation step, is covered in the next chapter.