Negotiation
Prepare around your BATNA
Your BATNA - best alternative to a negotiated agreement - is what you do if no deal is reached; it sets the real limit on what you should accept. The reservation price is the least favourable point you can accept given that BATNA. Your aspiration is the ambitious but defensible target. The ZOPA is the zone between both parties' reservation points. Improving your BATNA before you negotiate is often worth more than any tactic at the table.
Distributive versus integrative
Distributive bargaining divides a fixed pie; integrative bargaining expands it by trading across issues the parties value differently. Positions are what people say they want; interests are why. Skilled negotiators ask questions, share information selectively, trade concessions reciprocally rather than unilaterally, and use objective criteria.
Traps
Confusing BATNA with a bottom line; assuming the pie is fixed; conceding without a matching concession; treating "win-win" as splitting the difference; and making an opening offer without preparation - anchoring is powerful but cuts both ways.
Worked example
You want a supplier discount. Your BATNA is a slower internal process costing roughly $20k; therefore any deal costing less than $20k in added cost beats no deal. Research suggests the supplier's marginal cost leaves room between $60k and $75k. You anchor at $58k, they counter at $80k, and you trade a longer contract term for a lower unit price - an integrative trade.