Honest Negotiation

by Dr. Keld Jensen

  Negotiate ­your way to success It has been estimated that today, the cost of negotiating the average B2B contract is $16,800. In larger corporations, the annual costs of contract negotiation amount to more than $1.26 billion! On the order of 8.2 billion B2B contracts are signed each year; at least 50% of those require negotiation. Why are those numbers so important? Because research has shown that, on average, 42% of the potential value in negotiated agreements is lost!   I’m sure we can agree that negotiating knowledge and skills need improvement!   Negotiation is a psychological game between individuals. To play it effectively, you must know the game’s rules. Unfortunately, negotiations often devolve into fights, ending with winners and losers. One negotiator assumes his counterpart’s interests conflict with his own; disagreements, even hostilities arise, leading to deadlocks, lost potential value and needlessly ruined relationships.   On the other hand, good negotiations make everyone involved a winner. Intelligent cooperation leads to superior results, great value and stronger, longer-lasting relationships. The energies on both sides of the table combine to build a far bigger pie, then divide it to everyone’s best advantage.     This book presents a wealth of down-to-earth negotiating advice, backed by examples from actual negotiations. Every principle presented is drawn from real-world negotiating experience, augmented with reflections on trust, behavioral economics and sound decision making. If you negotiate – whether for contracts, procurement, sales, projects, management, or even in family life – this book is for you.   Learned well and followed closely, the principles and advice you’ll find here can open the door to competent, confident and satisfying command of the noble art of negotiation.   ”The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low prices is forgotten. The sweetness of good quality remains long after negotiating the right price for both parties.” (Keld Jensen)

308 pages, Paperback

Published June 21, 2017

About the author

Dr. Keld Jensen is an internationally acclaimed negotiation specialist, TEDx speaker, and author. Holding a Doctorate in negotiation, AI, and trust, he is the creator of the SMARTnership Negotiation concept—recognized among the top 3 negotiation training programs globally by the Global Training Organization.

He has advised global companies such as Rolls Royce, LEGO, Novo Nordisk, and Chevron, as well as governments including Canada, Denmark, and the UK. A former CEO of a publicly traded tech firm, he is currently a professor at Aalborg University (Denmark), Louvain/BMI (Belgium), and Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU (USA).

With over 200 TV appearances and 27 books published in 16 languages, he has been featured in major business publications and was recognized as a Top Thought Leader in Trust (2016) and ranked #3 in the 2025 Global Gurus Top 30. He also serves as the Negotiation Expert in Residence at World Commerce & Contracting.