Truth 9. It’s alive! Constantly improve your BATNA

Think of your BATNA as a beloved plant or pet: You feed it, you water it. BATNAs need care and attention to thrive. If you stop nurturing them, they die.

Your BATNA is in a constant state of flux. It ebbs and flows. Whatever you do, don’t be passive about it. For example, a home buyer might have three offers on her house today. Great BATNA, you might think. But three days from now, the inspection may go badly for one buyer, another buyer may not get the company transfer he anticipated and withdraw, and the third may find a more attractive house. So, now the seller’s BATNAs have withered. In this situation, I would advise the seller to schedule an open house, create a colorful website, and move ahead with a touch-up paint job. Even if a seller has three offers in hand, it’s wise to keep playing the field until the deal is signed, sealed, and delivered.

I’ve seen too many negotiators release their BATNAs before the proverbial cat is in the proverbial bag. A home buyer might fall in love with the second house she sees and refuse to view any others. A job recruiter might cancel all remaining interviews once the first candidate meets the bar. Prematurely releasing your BATNA dramatically reduces your power.

The surest way to improve your outcome and leverage your power better in any negotiation is to increase your BATNA’s attractiveness. For example, a job seeker might attempt to garner two or three job offers. Similarly, a new car buyer might pit several sellers against one another, asking each to meet or beat the others’ prices.

Having said this, I do not advocate starting bidding wars. Negotiators who use their BATNAs in a threatening fashion create ill will. What to do instead? First, list your options in order of attractiveness. Suppose you’re a job candidate, and four companies have made you offers: Company W, Company X, Company Y, and Company Z. So far, you like Company W the most, but the other options are close behind. As tempting as it may be to start a bidding war, I would avoid it. Rather, I advise approaching Company W and saying something like:

If you give me an offer that has A, B, and C in it, I will accept immediately without asking for anything else. But if you’re unable to offer me these terms, I’ll need more time to decide. Please understand that I would still be interested in the offer and may decide to accept it.

What I like about this strategy is that the counterparty is reassured that you are not going to start a bidding war and that she can close the deal right now with you.

The best way of improving your BATNA is to fully explore all possible courses of action.

For example, think back to the friend who had the suboptimal job offer from Company X. He might list his alternatives as follows:

▪ Continue the job search. (I learned that my friend had second-round interviews at two companies, was short-listed at three more, and had other interviews scheduled. Based on this, he figured there was an 80 percent chance he’d have a job offer from another company within three weeks.)

▪ Work as an intern, temp, or research assistant. (He had a written invitation from an accounting professor to work on a short-term project that was not high paying but was rewarding and prestigious.)

▪ Flip burgers. (This may sound like a joke, but everyone should be open to several courses of action.)

The friend ranked his alternatives in order of attractiveness (utility to him). Of all the options, he was most keen about extending his formal job search and decided to focus on his upcoming job interviews.

Skilled negotiators always keep their alternatives open and attempt to improve upon them.