As searchers we will negotiate with people that will be likely way more experienced than us (investors, business owners, professional services providers, etc.).
I found the HLS Program on Negotiation's blog very useful. It provides a lot of useful advice that can be applicable to all search fund's stages.
You can check their site. It contains many articles to improve your negotiation skills.
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Some of the takeaways I took for my search can be summarized as follows:
- Build a strong and active deal pipeline so you have a strong BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement). "Fall in love with three", not only one company (redacted
- Know the other party's alternatives to understand the motivations (BATNA)
- Know how to fight a high valuation expectation -anchoring effect- (redacted
- Be aware if you are committing too much time to certain deal (redacted
- Use conditions to navigate the agreement process (redacted
Hope it helps!