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Sales Negotiation Plan: Know What to Give and What to Get

Prepare the negotiation before the buyer asks for a discount. See their leverage, the trades to ask for, and the margin of each pricing scenario. Name the deal below.

Sales negotiation plan
Leverage, trades and pricing scenarios, before you give a discount.
true
true
true
Pricing rules (opt.)
Which deal do you want to close?

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You give the discount before you get anything

Discounting under pressure

Procurement asks for 20% off at quarter end. You say yes before you know what they could give back.

Tactic or real limit?

The buyer says the budget is final. You can't tell if it is true, or a move to lower the price.

Margin by gut feel

1 year or 3? 100 users or 300? You compare options on a napkin, and the margin is a guess.

A plan for every ask, with the numbers behind it

Before the call, Cobl sets out the buyer's leverage and yours, from the deal, your price list and your discount rules. It lists the trades to ask for and compares pricing scenarios on value and margin.

Leverage on both sides

Deadlines, alternatives and pressure, for them and for you, found in emails, calls and the CRM.

A trade for each concession

Each concession tied to something in return: a longer term, more volume, a reference, faster payment.

Scenarios with margin

Term, volume and discount side by side, with total value, margin and your approval limits.

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Prepare my negotiation plan for the Helix Logistics deal.

Covered by

Get their leverage, yours, the trades to ask for and your walk-away point.

Procurement wants 20% off. What can I ask in return?

Covered by

Get the trades that fit this deal: term, volume, payment or a reference.

Compare a 1-year and a 3-year deal for Helix, with the margin.

Covered by

See total value, discount and margin for each scenario, side by side.

Is their "final budget" real or a tactic?

Covered by

Get a read based on what they said before, and a way to test it.

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Get early access

Close the deal without giving away the margin

A discount given for nothing sets the price for the next renewal. A plan prepared before the call lets you trade instead of concede.

<!doctype html><html><head><meta charset="utf-8"><link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;500;600;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"><style>html,body{margin:0;height:100%;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;font-family:Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;color:#181818}.c{position:absolute;inset:0;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center}.serif{font-family:'STK Bureau Serif Variable Complete',Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif}.mono{font-family:ui-monospace,'SF Mono',Menlo,monospace}.pg{background:#fff;width:270px;padding:26px 30px 28px;box-shadow:0 6px 20px -6px rgba(23,23,23,.10);border-radius:4px}.k{font-size:8.5px;letter-spacing:.12em;color:#767473;text-transform:uppercase;border-bottom:1px solid #181818;padding-bottom:6px;display:flex;justify-content:space-between}.n{font-size:44px;line-height:1;margin-top:20px}.s{font-size:11.5px;color:#545352;margin-top:10px}.s b{color:#181818;font-weight:600}.n{animation:wr 5s ease-out infinite}@keyframes wr{0%,18%{clip-path:inset(0 0 100% 0)}40%,92%{clip-path:inset(0 0 0 0);opacity:1}100%{clip-path:inset(0 0 0 0);opacity:0}}@media (prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){*,*:after{animation:none!important}}</style></head><body><div class="c"><div class="pg"><div class="k"><span>Walk-away price</span><span>2</span></div><div class="n serif">€152k</div><div class="s">Target <b>€180k</b>. Below <b>€152k</b>, we stop.</div></div></div></body></html>

Know the leverage

What the buyer needs, what they can walk away from, and your own limits.

<!doctype html><html><head><meta charset="utf-8"><link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;500;600;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"><style>html,body{margin:0;height:100%;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;font-family:Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;color:#181818}.c{position:absolute;inset:0;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center}.serif{font-family:'STK Bureau Serif Variable Complete',Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif}.mono{font-family:ui-monospace,'SF Mono',Menlo,monospace}.f{background:#fff;border-radius:14px;padding:14px 22px 16px;box-shadow:0 6px 20px -6px rgba(23,23,23,.10)}.f .k{font-size:12px;color:#767473}.f .v{display:flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;margin-top:8px;font-size:15px;white-space:nowrap}.f .ar{color:#a3a19f;font-size:14px}.p{background:#9eff78;color:#181818;border-radius:99px;padding:4px 10px;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;white-space:nowrap}.p{animation:pop 5s infinite}@keyframes pop{0%,24%{opacity:0;transform:scale(.6)}32%{opacity:1;transform:scale(1.08)}38%,92%{opacity:1;transform:scale(1)}100%{opacity:0;transform:scale(1)}}@media (prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){*,*:after{animation:none!important}}</style></head><body><div class="c"><div class="f"><div class="k">You give → you get</div><div class="v"><span>Free onboarding</span><span class="ar">→</span><span class="p">3-year term</span></div></div></div></body></html>

Give and get

Each concession linked to a commitment in return.

<!doctype html><html><head><meta charset="utf-8"><link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;500;600;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"><style>html,body{margin:0;height:100%;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;font-family:Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;color:#181818}.c{position:absolute;inset:0;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center}.serif{font-family:'STK Bureau Serif Variable Complete',Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif}.mono{font-family:ui-monospace,'SF Mono',Menlo,monospace}.a{width:300px;box-sizing:border-box;background:#fff;border-radius:14px;padding:16px 20px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.5;box-shadow:0 6px 20px -6px rgba(23,23,23,.10)}.a .h{background:#9eff78;padding:0 3px;margin:0 -3px;white-space:nowrap}.a .h{background:linear-gradient(#9eff78,#9eff78) 0 0/100% 100% no-repeat;animation:hl 5s ease-in-out infinite}@keyframes hl{0%,18%{background-size:0% 100%}40%,92%{background-size:100% 100%}100%{background-size:0% 100%}}@media (prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){*,*:after{animation:none!important}}</style></head><body><div class="c"><div class="a serif">Tom R. will ask for 10% off.<br><span class="h">Offer 5% for 3 years</span></div></div></body></html>

Price with the margin in view

Each pricing scenario shows value and margin, within your discount rules.

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Questions about this use case

What is a sales negotiation plan?

A sales negotiation plan prepares a deal negotiation before it starts. It lists what each side wants, the leverage on each side, the concessions you could make, what you ask in return, and the point where you walk away. It keeps you from deciding under pressure in the meeting.

What should a sales negotiation plan include?

Start with the people on the buyer side and who decides. Add your goals and theirs, and the leverage on both sides, such as deadlines and alternatives. List the trades: what you can give and what you ask back. Finish with your target price, your limit, your walk-away point and your answers to the likely objections.

How do you respond when a buyer asks for a discount?

Don't answer with a number first. Ask what is behind the request: a budget limit, a competing offer or a procurement rule. Then trade a lower price for a longer term, more volume, faster payment or a public reference. A discount with nothing in return teaches the buyer to ask again.

How do you compare pricing scenarios for a deal?

Put each option side by side: term, volume, discount and payment terms. For each one, show the total contract value, the real discount and the margin. Then check them against your discount rules and approval limits. Cobl builds this comparison from your price list and the rules you add, in Excel or as a dashboard.