Negotiation Is the Heart of Business Development
I want to share an observation that has become increasingly clear to me across years of consulting, teaching, and preparing leaders for high stakes conversations.
Whether you are a partner at a global accounting firm, a senior lawyer at a top-tier practice, a chief executive responsible for growth, or even a president rallying international support, you are, in some form, working in business development. You may not label it that way, but your success is measured by your ability to secure commitment.
-Commitment from clients
-Commitment from stakeholders
-Commitment from funders
-Commitment from partners
Commitment does not come from charisma or clever sales lines. It comes from negotiation.
Not negotiation as most people imagine it, but negotiation in the deeper, more sophisticated sense: the ability to uncover what truly matters to the other party and to shape an offering that meets those interests with clarity and integrity.
This is the thread I see running through every leader’s performance, from senior lawyers to EY partners to President Zelensky as he engages world leaders. Their results depend on their ability to diagnose underlying needs and turn those insights into compelling proposals.
When you view business development through that lens, the work looks very different. It becomes a technical, thoughtful, relational discipline rather than an act of self-promotion.
And it becomes something you can master.
Business Development Is About Interests, Not Pitches
Every time you try to secure a client, influence a board, or bring a new opportunity to life, you are doing one of two things:
Framing what you already offer in a way that matches the other party’s interests
Designing a solution that genuinely meets those interests in a unique way
Both rely on a single capability: understanding what those interests are.
Interests are not the same as goals. My MPhil research explored this in depth. Goals are often the visible request. Interests are the motivators underneath.
-A partner might ask for “discounted rates”
-A board might ask for “a more detailed proposal”
-A client might say, “I need a faster turnaround”
These are not the real issues. They are cues pointing to interests like risk, certainty, reputation, control, budget cycles, internal politics, personal pressure, or unmet needs.
If you stop at the surface, you will design the wrong solution.
When you learn to uncover interests, you stop selling and start diagnosing.
Think of Yourself as a Doctor; Not a Salesperson
One of the most useful metaphors I share with clients is this: business development is a form of diagnosis.
Think of a great doctor. They do not guess. They observe, question, analyse, and piece together a pattern the patient may not recognise. They understand physiology, psychology, context, and risk. Only then do they prescribe a treatment.
The best business developers do precisely the same.
This is why the Sheer Negotiations Model works so well. It forces you to:
Understand interests, not just goals
Analyse the pressures shaping the other party’s behaviour
Explore creative solutions that satisfy multiple interests
Design a proposal that feels tailor-made
It also prevents a problem I see often: people rushing to sell before they understand what the other party values.
Doctors do not prescribe before diagnosing. Business developers should not either.
Why Most People Miss the Real Problem
Through my work in Australia and New Zealand, I have seen a consistent pattern.
People rarely tell you their true need at the beginning of a conversation.
There are many reasons for this:
They are unsure themselves.
They lack language for the deeper issue.
They are protecting vulnerabilities.
They assume you will not understand the internal realities they face.
They have had poor experiences with “sales conversations” in the past.
This is where negotiation becomes a genuine leadership skill. It is your job to recognise that the stated problem is usually only part of the picture.
For example:
A CFO says, “We need a lower project cost.”
But when I speak with them privately and ask the right questions, I often learn:
Their board has challenged them on cost discipline
They are under pressure not to repeat past overruns
They need a narrative that shows they are in control
They are managing internal politics you cannot see
The real interest may be certainty, predictability, or reputation preservation, not cost.
Once you diagnose that, the proposal you design shifts completely.
This is where negotiation moves from being a conversation to being a strategy.
Why Negotiation Defines Great Business Developers
The leaders who excel at business development consistently do four things:
Diagnose interests better than anyone else
-They ask precise, disarming questions
-They make space for honesty
-They notice what is not being saidDesign solutions that match those interests
-They do not rely on generic offerings
-They create alignmentCommunicate in a way that feels reassuring and credible
-Clients feel understood, not sold toBuild relationships through trust, not pressure
This is the opposite of the outdated view of business development as self promotion. It is thoughtful, strategic, analytical work that requires influence, empathy, and creativity.
This is why negotiation skills are leadership skills. When you master them, you become the person others trust to diagnose accurately and solve effectively.
How the Sheer Negotiations Model Supports This Work
My model is built around three pillars, each designed to prepare you for high value conversations:
1. Interest Based Preparation
-You identify both your own interests and the other party’s.
-You explore motivations, pressures, fears, and aspirations.
2. Rights Based Preparation
-You build the evidence base for your proposal.
-Benchmarks, market data, precedents, and value analysis anchor your credibility.
3. Power Based Preparation
-You assess alternatives, walkaway points, and the true balance of reliance.
-This shapes your confidence and protects you from poor deals.
When you prepare this way, business development becomes deliberate and predictable. You see patterns others miss. And you design deals that genuinely meet the needs of the people across the table.
A Message from Noa
In all my years working with leaders, one truth has stood out above all others: business development is simply the art of understanding people deeply enough to help them solve the right problem.
When you approach it as a diagnostic discipline, rather than a performance, everything becomes easier.
-Clients trust you more
-Your confidence grows
-Your outcomes strengthen
-And your influence expands
If you ever want support in learning how to uncover interests clearly and design solutions that resonate at the deepest level, I would be glad to help.
Negotiation is not pressure. It is clarity, empathy, and strategy. When you master it, business development becomes one of the most rewarding parts of leadership.
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