Investigative Negotiation: Uncover Needs, Not Demands

The goal of investigative negotiation is to understand what lies behind the other party’s demands and use that insight to shape the agreement or influence their position. In this article, we’ll show you how to do it.

What Is Investigative Negotiation?

American businessman and academic Chris Voss says that the goal of negotiation is to build a relationship and understand the goals and needs of the other party—only then should you begin negotiating. Michal Musil from the GrowJOB Institute adds that a good salesperson should be more of a scout than a warrior armed with polished arguments.

This approach is known as investigative negotiation. It’s even considered the first phase of negotiation. It means that you first clarify your own goal and what you want to achieve. At the same time, you need to understand what the other party needs. Only then can you influence their decision.

Investigative Negotiation in History

Michal Musil explains investigative negotiation using the example of the post-Yom Kippur War negotiations. The war lasted a few days in 1973, during which Egypt attacked Israel on its most important holiday: “After the war, peace talks began but soon stalled over the division of the Sinai Peninsula. Both sides wanted it and couldn’t reach an agreement. After several months, the U.S. stepped in, inviting both parties to negotiations with mediators whose goal was to uncover the real needs of each side and find a path to agreement.”

This illustrates a core principle of investigative negotiation—creating a cooperative atmosphere where both sides can trust each other and understand each other’s needs. During the talks between Egypt and Israel, mediators sought to understand why each side wanted the Sinai and why its division was such a crucial part of the peace treaty. While Egypt saw Sinai as part of its national territory, Israel viewed it as a necessary buffer zone to prevent further attacks from Egypt.

Although both parties had the same demand—they wanted Sinai—their underlying needs were different: Egypt didn’t want to lose land, and Israel wanted security. Recognizing this allowed them to reach a mutually acceptable solution—the Sinai Peninsula became part of Egypt but as a demilitarized zone.

The Zero-Sum Game Fallacy 0️⃣

A zero-sum game implies that during negotiation, both parties are dividing a pie, and the stronger side takes a bigger slice. In investigative negotiation, this is seen as a fallacy. The situation may appear competitive on the surface, but once you dig deeper, understand the goals, and uncover the needs of both sides, you can influence the other party more effectively.

Most importantly, you can find a win-win solution—one that benefits both parties.

💁‍♀️ Demands vs. Needs

You can also think of investigative negotiation as two icebergs. What’s visible above the surface is just a small part—the crucial part lies hidden below. In negotiations, this means:

• At first glance, you see positions (the tip of the iceberg)—the demands of each side.
• Through asking questions and actively listening, you dive below the surface to uncover interests—you learn what the parties truly need.
  
  

Another example of investigative negotiation is described in the article Investigative Negotiation by Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman. It involves a negotiation between a massive American pharmaceutical company and a smaller European supplier of critical chemicals. The American company demanded exclusivity, which the supplier refused—even when offered higher compensation.

The real reason behind the refusal was a friendly agreement with another small firm to which the supplier also sold the chemicals. The CEO of the American company discovered this during the negotiation, which led to a solution: the European supplier would provide the chemicals exclusively to the American giant, with one exception—for the partner company.

Investigative Negotiation in Sales 🤓

In sales, you’ll often face demands that you can only address effectively if you understand the underlying needs. For example:

• Discount request – The customer asks for a discount, which you could grant—or you could explore why they’re asking. Maybe they can’t cover the project within this year’s budget. A solution could be to invoice part of the project this year and the rest next year—without lowering the price.
• Request to end cooperation – The issue may not be that the client wants to abandon the project. Perhaps their manager is anxious about it. In that case, a meeting with the director to address concerns may resolve everything
• Request to change project delivery – You could rush your team, or, as an investigative negotiator, you could find out why the delivery needs to be faster and whether the whole project needs to be accelerated. It might turn out they only need part of the project done sooner—so you don’t have to deliver everything at once.

🤝 A Cooperative Atmosphere for Investigative Negotiation

To truly grasp the needs of the other party, two things are essential: a cooperative atmosphere and calibrated questions. The other side will open up more easily if they trust you, and you’ll uncover valuable information if you know how to ask the right questions.

The figure of Hanns Scharff is controversial, but his approach to creating a cooperative environment is worth noting. During World War II, Scharff interrogated captured American and British airmen, tasked with extracting strategic information. He did so by trying to befriend them—bringing them food, taking them on walks, and engaging in friendly conversations (his wife was British, and he spoke fluent English).

Once he had earned their trust, he asked for the information he needed—and thanks to the relationship he had built, they gave it to him. Because of his kind and respectful methods, Hanns Scharff was not prosecuted after the war. He emigrated to the U.S. and later taught negotiation techniques to the FBI, based on the belief that people share valuable information when there is trust and a personal connection. His story is told in The Interrogator by Raymond F. Toliver.

☝️ How to Create a Cooperative Atmosphere

In negotiation (or conflict), you’re typically positioned as “us versus them.” A cooperative atmosphere, however, means you and the other party are standing together—facing the problem as a team.

To achieve this, it’s crucial not to battle your counterpart but instead to de-escalate tension. You can do this by:

• Speaking in a conditional tone (using “would,” “could,” etc.),
• Emphasizing a shared goal,
• Highlighting points of agreement.
  
  

Experts also recommend not reacting to unpleasant arguments in the heat of the moment. That’s where the “parking lot” technique comes in: mentally park the argument—don’t react to it during a conflict—and revisit it in later phases of the negotiation.

Calibrated Questioning Technique 🖇️

When you’re upset, emotional, or feel like firing back with counterarguments—pause, and ask questions instead. Doing so calms the atmosphere and helps you uncover information that lets you better understand the other party’s needs and interests. Plus, by asking questions, you show genuine interest in the other person and build a crucial relationship based on trust.

As mentioned earlier, a good negotiator is a scout—and their main tool is well-aimed, well-phrased questions.

Try thinking about how you'd ask for a discount in a sales conversation. For example, “Can I get a discount?” or “Will you give me a discount?”

These are poorly phrased questions. They don’t encourage reflection or reveal anything new—you’ll only get a yes or no. But if you ask, “Under what conditions could you offer a discount?” you pose an open-ended question that invites conversation and moves the discussion forward.

In investigative negotiation, focus on questions that begin with what, how, or sometimes why. For example:

• What’s important to you when deciding on a system?
• How does your decision-making process work?
• What would I need to do to become your supplier?
• What does success look like for you in this project?

🧏 Active Listening and Induced Empathy

If you ask good questions, you must also listen well—which is why the technique of active listening is essential in negotiations:

• summarize your understanding (e.g., “Do I understand correctly that price and delivery time are more important than the financing method?”),
• paraphrase (restate what the other party said in your own words) and confirm you’re on the same page,
• mirror (repeat key words) to encourage the other party to open up more.
  
  

Calibrated questions also help you generate what’s known as induced empathy. When you summarize the situation from your perspective and ask how you can resolve it together, you spark interest and engagement in the other party. You encourage them to collaborate with you in finding a solution that benefits both sides.

Investigative Negotiation Is Just One Part

Our free video course, SALESMAJSTR, with instructor Michal Musil from the GrowJOB Institute, covers negotiation in its full scope. We also summarize all the key insights for you in our ongoing article series on negotiation.