MOVE 20 · LEVERAGE & ALTERNATIVES · FREE
Build a Real Alternative
Create a genuine option you could take if this deal fails, because leverage comes from what you can do without them, not from what you say.
Your strength at the table is set by the quality of your next-best option away from it.
WHY IT WORKS
Counterparts sense dependence even when it is unspoken. When you hold a real alternative — another client, another supplier, another role — your tone, patience and willingness to ask all change. You stop negotiating from need and start negotiating from choice.
WHEN TO USE IT
- You feel you have to accept whatever this counterpart offers.
- A major negotiation is weeks away and you have time to prepare.
WHEN NOT TO USE IT
- The alternative would require deceiving the counterpart or breaching an agreement.
- You are already committed and seeking alternatives would break a promise you made.
SIGNALS IT FITS
- Your income or project depends on a single counterpart.
- You avoid asking for anything because losing them would be catastrophic.
PREPARATION
- List three concrete alternatives and the realistic value of each.
- Take one practical step toward the strongest alternative this week.
STEP BY STEP
- Identify your single best alternative and its actual terms.
- Improve it until it is credible to you, not just theoretical.
- Enter the negotiation knowing exactly when you would switch to it.
- Mention it only if needed, factually and without threat.
OPENING LINE
“I want to make this work with you, and I also want to be honest that I have other options I'm weighing.”
SCRIPT
I'd prefer to work with you on this. I'm also talking with another supplier, so it would help to understand whether you can meet the delivery date.
LIKELY RESPONSES & COUNTERS
- If they dismiss the alternative as inferior
- Do not argue its merits. Say it meets your requirements and return to the open term.
- If they ask who the alternative is
- Decline to name it politely; the details of other negotiations are not part of this one.
SECOND MOVE
With a stronger alternative in hand, use Anchor First with a Reason on the terms that matter most.
FOLLOW-UP
Keep the alternative warm even after you agree, so you are not fully dependent next time.
COMMON MISTAKES
- Inventing an alternative you do not have.
- Mentioning the alternative as a threat in the first minute.
WALK-AWAY CONDITIONS
- Your alternative clearly beats the best terms this counterpart will offer.
EXAMPLE (FICTIONAL)
A freelance developer earning 80% of income from one agency spent two weeks reconnecting with former clients and secured a smaller contract. At renewal she asked the agency for a 12% rate increase for the first time and got 8%.
ETHICAL BOUNDARY
Only reference alternatives that exist. Fabricated offers are deception and can carry real professional and contractual consequences.
RELATED MOVES
Content version 1 · Drafted by Power Move IQ Editorial · Not yet human-reviewed · Educational decision support, not legal, financial or employment advice.