Knowing your target is only half the work. The other half is opening far enough away that a reasonable back-and-forth still lands near where you need to be. In the Academy of Business Negotiations Framing module, that skill is called bracketing.
Bracketing is simple math with real discipline. Your opening position should protect your target, not announce it.
Open away from the number you need
Say your deal target is $100. Opening at $100 leaves you one direction to move: worse. If the other side counters at $120, the midpoint drifts above your target before the real trading even starts.
Bracket instead. If they are likely to sit near $120, open near $80. The midpoint becomes $100. Now a normal exchange can land on the outcome you prepared for, without you surrendering the goal on the first counter.
Ambition is not dishonesty
Bracketing can feel uncomfortable. You are asking for something you may not fully expect to keep. That discomfort is normal. Sophisticated counterparts expect room to move. They are building room too.
What matters is defensibility. Your open has to be explainable with data, cost structure, volume math, or risk. An ambitious open with a clean rationale is a position. An unexplained stretch is noise. Do the backward math before the call: where do I need to open so a fair trade lands on my target?
Protect the target, not the path
Bracketing also creates trade space. When you open with room, you can give on the path without abandoning the destination. Cost, terms, freight, marketing support, and timing can all move while the dollar outcome stays intact.
If you open on the target itself, every concession is a loss. If you open with a bracket, concessions can still leave you whole.
Practical takeaway: Before your next negotiation, write the target first, then set an opening number that makes that target the natural midpoint of a realistic range.
Want the framework behind this? Download the free 5 Laws of Negotiation ebook: 5laws.negotiationsacademy.com
