Vantage is proud to announce the release of its latest customer-supplier negotiation study, Capturing Value in Volatile Times.
This 2026 study comes at a critical time where organizations are facing significant market disruptions, from tariffs to AI. To stay competitive in this environment, companies must protect both value and relationships through effective negotiations.
Building on our prior studies in 2009 and 2018, we surveyed more than 400 market leaders across industries to:
- Compare how negotiation practices and outcomes have changed over time
- Uncover the most pressing challenges faced by customers and suppliers
- Analyze what the best negotiators do differently
Top 5 Negotiation Trends from Vantage Partners' Buy-side and Sell-side Negotiation Research
1. More Adversarial Negotiations
Negotiations are increasingly adversarial, putting increased pressure on buy- and sell-side. 42% of deals were reported adversarial in our 2025 survey, up from 29% in 2018.
2. Businesses Lose Money in Negotiation and Implementation
The costs of poorly handled negotiations are much higher than many companies realize. Organizations are losing 60% of their deal value.
3. Buy-Side and Sell-Side Face Similar Barriers to Value
Top barriers include: cumbersome negotiation processes, poor stakeholder alignment, and being overly focused on price.
4. Good Negotiating Pays Off
Top negotiators win 3X more value for their organizations and are more likely to enhance relationships through the process. Those in the top 25% secure roughly 60% more value than the bottom quartile.
5. Winning Negotiators Have Strong Infrastructure
Developing stronger negotiation capabilities and organizational infrastructure can decrease barriers to value and solidify competitive advantage. More top negotiators reported that their companies had key negotiation enablers in place.
Download the 2026 study to leverage insights that will help your organization improve negotiation practices and capture more value.
With three decades of negotiation expertise, Vantage Partners helps companies build negotiation capability to capture more value and sustain key relationships. Learn more about our negotiation advisory services and negotiation training.
