Negotiating techniques: BATNA

BATNA means “best alternative to a negotiated agreement”: the course of action you would choose if the current negotiation produced no deal. It is the standard against which you compare a proposed agreement, not a threat or a predetermined demand.

When to use it

• Before negotiating employment, property, procurement or another personal agreement.
• When an organisation handles an acquisition, partnership, supplier dispute, labour matter or other complex negotiation.

High-stakes legal, employment or financial matters may require qualified advice.

Origins

Roger Fisher and William Ury introduced the BATNA label in their 1981 book Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. The broader idea of preparing a fallback is much older, but the term focused principled-negotiation practice on improving outside options rather than becoming trapped by positions at the table. Later editions are also associated with Bruce Patton.

What it is

Your BATNA is what you will actually do if agreement fails. It is not merely any alternative, and it may be uncertain.

A company negotiating distribution for a new consumer product might sell through a smaller chain, sell directly online, delay the launch, redesign the offer or stop. Compare these alternatives on value, probability, timing, cost, reputation, relationships and reversibility. The best one becomes the provisional BATNA.

The reservation point—the least favourable deal you would accept—can be derived by translating the BATNA into terms comparable with the proposed agreement. It is not identical to the BATNA itself.