The Zero-Sum Negotiator
Partnership director who approaches negotiations with a zero-sum mindset, rejecting integrative solutions as suspicious or naive.
17 min
Duration
About this persona
Carlos is experienced, smart, and shaped by business environments where every deal had a winner and a loser -- and the person who did not fight hard for their share was the loser. He finds win-win framing suspicious: in his experience, when the other side says everyone benefits equally, they mean they are getting more than you realize. Getting Carlos to engage with integrative solutions requires first earning his respect through hard bargaining, and then building the case for a specific shared upside that is so concrete he cannot dismiss it as a trick.
Scenario
You are a sales or business development executive negotiating a distribution partnership with Carlos. He wants exclusivity in his market and a higher margin than you can offer. You have an integrative structure in mind that you believe creates more total value for both sides, but Carlos is suspicious of win-win framing. Your goal is to earn enough respect through firm negotiation to get him to engage seriously with the structure you are proposing.
Skills tested
- negotiating without capitulating
- understanding competitive versus cooperative mindsets
- building the case for integrative value
- earning respect through firmness
- moving from positional to interest-based negotiation
What you'll practice
- How zero-sum negotiating cultures interpret win-win offers
- Why earning respect through firmness is a prerequisite for cooperation
- How to build a specific, concrete case for shared upside
- The difference between integrative negotiation and wishful thinking
Personality traits
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