Negotiation Styles Self-Assessment Quiz

Instructions

Answer honestly, based on what you actually do under pressure — not what you know you're "supposed" to do. For each of the 15 scenarios, circle the option (A, B, or C) closest to your real, gut-level reaction. Don't overthink it — the fast answer is the true one. Tally your letters at the end.

Time: 8–10 minutes.

The 15 Scenarios

1. A prospect says: "Your competitor is 20% cheaper for the same thing." You: A. Hold your price and tell them the competitor's offer is almost certainly missing something. B. Offer to match or beat the price on the spot to keep the deal moving. C. Say "let me get back to you" and let the email sit for a few days.

2. Your champion messages you Friday afternoon: "Legal wants unlimited liability in the MSA or we walk." You: A. Tell them that's a non-starter — you won't take it back to your legal team until they move off it. B. Take it to your legal team and push them to just accept it so the deal doesn't die. C. Don't respond until Monday, hoping the champion softens the ask on their own.

3. On a pricing call, the buyer goes quiet right after you state your number. You: A. Hold the silence, prepared to defend the number line by line if they push back. B. Jump in within a few seconds with "but we do have some flexibility there." C. Fill the silence with a joke or change the subject to ease the tension.

4. A stakeholder starts trimming scope live on the call. You: A. Tell them the price was built for the full scope — trimming it doesn't move the number. B. Agree to the smaller scope at the same (or a lower) price to keep the room happy. C. Nod along and say you'll "look into what's possible" without tying scope to price.

5. Procurement asks for a fourth round of pricing "just to be thorough." You: A. Ask directly what's changed since the last round that justifies another. B. Send a new, lower number without asking why. C. Resend the same numbers and hope they don't notice nothing moved.

6. Your manager asks for a status update on a deal that's been stalled for three weeks. You: A. Say you're "holding firm" on your terms — even though there's been zero movement. B. Admit you've quietly agreed to most of what the buyer asked, just to keep it alive. C. Say you haven't followed up because you're not sure what to say next.

7. A customer threatens to churn unless you throw in three free seats at renewal. You: A. Hold the line on seat pricing and risk the renewal rather than move. B. Add the seats immediately without asking for anything in return. C. Let the renewal date pass without a decision either way.

8. Two stakeholders disagree about your proposal, in front of you, mid-meeting. You: A. Jump in and argue your side to settle the disagreement in your favor. B. Agree with whichever one seems more senior or more upset. C. Stay quiet and let them work it out without weighing in.

9. You're asked to accept an early-termination clause with no penalty for the buyer. You: A. Refuse outright and tell them it's off the table. B. Accept it — pushing back feels like it could blow up the deal. C. Leave it out of your redline notes and let legal sort it out later.

10. A prospect says: "Just give me your best and final — no games." You: A. Quote a number you know is inflated, so you have room to "win" later. B. Give your real floor immediately — you want to be seen as fair. C. Deflect with "let me check with my team," even though you already know the answer.

11. Mid-negotiation, the buyer's voice gets sharper, frustrated at the pace. You: A. Match the intensity and hold your position more firmly. B. Immediately soften your ask to de-escalate. C. Suggest ending the call and picking it back up another time.

12. A competitor's rep has clearly gotten to your champion with FUD about your company. You: A. Go on the offensive against the competitor in your next conversation. B. Over-promise extra deliverables to win the champion back. C. Don't bring it up directly and hope it blows over.

13. You've been asked for a multi-year discount, but the buyer won't commit to the term length. You: A. Tell them the discount is contingent on signing the term today — full stop. B. Give the multi-year discount on a one-year commitment anyway, to keep momentum. C. Leave the term length open and move the conversation along without resolving it.

14. Forecast call is tomorrow. A deal you called "commit" has gone quiet for ten days. You: A. Send a blunt, deadline-driven email forcing a yes/no. B. Send an apologetic check-in offering to sweeten the deal further. C. Send nothing, and quietly slip the deal instead of flagging it.

15. A buyer says: "We just need it in writing that pricing won't increase for three years." You: A. Refuse to put it in writing, but say verbally "we'll try." B. Put it in writing immediately, even though pricing hasn't approved a three-year hold. C. Don't respond to that line in the email at all.

Scoring

Count your answers: A = ___ B = ___ C = ___

• Mostly A → Competing is your default.
• Mostly B → Accommodating is your default.
• Mostly C → Avoiding is your default.
• Even split (no style with 3+ more than the others) → Situational — read all three profiles; you flex, but check whether you flex on purpose or under pressure.

The Three Profiles — and What Each One Costs You

Competing (mostly A)

What it looks like: You hold price, hold position, and treat concessions as losses. You're comfortable with tension and confrontation. What it costs you:

• Deals that die quietly at legal or procurement because nobody told you "no" to your face — they just stopped responding.
• Champions who go silent because defending your position internally is exhausting for them.
• Renewal risk: customers who felt "beaten" in the original deal look for an exit the moment a better option appears.
• Referral loss — buyers don't introduce you to peers when the experience felt adversarial.

Accommodating (mostly B)

What it looks like: You concede quickly to keep the deal alive and the relationship warm. Conflict feels like a signal you're doing something wrong. What it costs you:

• Margin — every unmatched concession trains the buyer (and your own book of business) that your price is soft.
• Discount creep — this quarter's "just this once" becomes next year's expected floor.
• Renewal leverage — you've already shown you'll move without being asked to justify why.
• Internal credibility — deal desk and finance start discounting your forecast the way you discount your price.

Avoiding (mostly C)

What it looks like: Tension makes you delay, defer, or go quiet rather than engage directly. What it costs you:

• Deal velocity — every day you don't address an open issue is a day the buyer's urgency cools.
• Forecast accuracy — deals you've avoided disqualifying stay in "commit" long after they're dead, and you find out on the forecast call.
• Unresolved risk that surfaces later — the clause you didn't push back on becomes the dispute you have in year two.
• Trust — buyers read silence as either disorganization or disinterest, neither of which builds confidence.

Borrowed Strength — Flexing Into Your Weaker Style on Purpose

• If you're a Competitor: Borrow the Accommodator's listening. Before you hold a position, ask one more question about what's driving their ask — you may be defending a hill they don't actually need to take.
• If you're an Accommodator: Borrow the Competitor's anchor discipline. Before any concession, say out loud (to yourself if no one else): "What am I asking for in return?" If you don't have an answer, don't give the concession yet.
• If you're an Avoider: Borrow both. Set yourself an artificial deadline ("I will send the follow-up by 3pm today regardless of how I feel about it") and use a scripted opening line to force the conversation you're inclined to delay: "I want to close the loop on [the open item] before we go further — can we take two minutes on it now?"

Re-Take Protocol

Take this quiz twice: once when calm (a quiet afternoon), once within an hour of a genuinely tense negotiation. If your dominant letter changes between the two, your "calm self" and your "pressure self" are different negotiators — and your pressure self is the one showing up in the room that matters. Re-take quarterly to track drift.