The Negotiator is a series of columns with the intention of helping poolies become great negotiators when they do deals in their pools.

Part 3: Walking away.

Call this a pressure move. Its okay to walk away if you feel the deal is going sour. Perhaps you initiated the negotiation with your colleague. Don’t let that stop you from walking away. Ask yourself if you can get a better result by going somewhere else with your asset. Are others willing to pay more? Is the timing right to move this player? What will it cost to walk away?

Having a good back-up plan before you start negotiating is a good insurance policy. Going to plan “B” helps make coming to an agreement much less critical. Perhaps you could suggest to return to negotiations at a later date.

Look at what you are offering or what you have been offered. If you have an asset that no one else has, then perhaps its time to end negotiations and go elsewhere. Be careful though, you don’t want to seem too difficult to deal with by the others in your pool. This is a tactic to use in moderation
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Consider this, what is your trading partners alternative to an agreement. Are they willing to walk away from the deal too? If you have a reputation for making good deals for both parties, then chances are better that they will not walk away from a deal and you could squeeze them a little more.

Walking away isn’t always easy but doing so may be the best move you make all year. Fantasy hockey is chalk full of “what ifs”. Perhaps this move is one you won’t regret.

Next week: Hard-nosed or friendly? What works?