Every negotiation involves a trade. You give something, they give something. The sharper question is whether each side values those items the same way.
Disproportionate value is the practice of offering something that has real value to your counterpart, but costs your business relatively little to provide. It is not fake value. It is smart trading.
The Gap Is the Opportunity
In the ABN course, Ken uses the Funko/Amazon example to make this tangible. Amazon digital placement had a low internal cost because the systems, traffic, and merchandising tools already existed. To Funko, that placement carried a much higher perceived value because it created visibility, sales momentum, and brand credibility.
That gap between cost to you and value to them is where the negotiation opportunity lives. If you can identify it before the meeting, you can trade without giving up the expensive parts of the deal.
Make the Value Real
The discipline is making sure the value is genuine. A buyer may value priority reorder status. A vendor may value better forecast data. A partner may value an introduction, early access, merchandising support, executive attention, shared analytics, or faster internal approval.
Those assets may be inexpensive for you to provide, but valuable because they solve a real business problem for the other side. That is why the work starts with understanding their needs, not listing your spare benefits.
Use It as Trading Currency
Do not give disproportionate value away casually. Put it into the trade. If they want a price concession, you might offer better visibility or planning support instead. If they need reassurance, you might offer reporting, access, or a structured review cadence that gives them confidence without damaging your economics.
The point is to improve the deal in profit dollars while still helping the other side feel that their needs are being met.
Practical takeaway: Before your next negotiation, list three things that cost you little but could matter a lot to your counterpart.
Want the framework behind this? Download the free 5 Laws of Negotiation ebook: 5laws.negotiationsacademy.com
