Many negotiators confuse these two terms and lose.

Your BATNA isn’t your bottom line. If you don’t know the difference, you’re negotiating blind.

Author

Scott Harrison
June 17, 2025

The one number that should be whispering in your ear during every negotiation

Many negotiators focus on one number: “the deal.”

But smart negotiators focus on two.

The first one? It's invisible. It’s internal.
And it quietly determines who wins, who folds, and who walks away stronger.

It’s your reservation value.

So, what is your reservation value?

It’s the walkaway point—the deal you’ll accept, but wouldn’t fight for.

  • If you’re selling, it’s the least you’d take.

  • If you’re buying, it’s the most you’d offer.

And it’s not your BATNA.

Your BATNA is your best alternative to doing the deal.
Your reservation value is the point at which you’re indifferent to doing it at all.

So many people get this wrong, but here, you’ll always get facts!

Your BATNA informs your reservation value,
but they are NOT the same.

A quick table to anchor the concept:

Term

What it means

What it tells you

BATNA

Your next best option if this deal falls through

“What else could I do instead?”

Reservation Value

The tipping point of accept vs. walk away

“Where do I draw the line?”

Here’s a real-world example:

The Loch Lomond house

  • Listed at £425,000

  • You’d love to get it for £385,000

  • You’re hesitant around £400,000

  • But you’re indifferent at £420,000

  • Anything more? You walk.

So £420,000 becomes your reservation value.

Imagine the seller says yes to your offer, then backtracks.

If you shrug and say, “Fair enough,” you know you’ve hit your true threshold.

So why do people go below it?

Even when they know their number…

  • They panic

  • They fear “losing the deal”

  • They get seduced by sunk cost

  • They’re pressured by confidence from the other side

  • Or worst of all, they forget it entirely.

This is why the reservation value should be the anchor inside your own mind.

Shift your goal: Don’t just close the deal. Beat your reservation

  • You don’t negotiate to hit your floor.

  • You negotiate to beat it.

  • If you agree at your reservation value, it’s a neutral result.

  • You captured no surplus. They took it all.

  • If you agree below it, you’ve given away value.

  • If you agree above it, you’ve claimed your share of the pie.

Here's how it works in every deal

Result

What happened

You got exactly your reservation

Neutral outcome – no value claimed

You got above it

You captured surplus – you’re winning

You got below it

You lost leverage – you’re losing

Reservation vs Surplus Pie

POLL: Be honest

Final reminder

Every deal you make has two stories:

  1. What you got.

  2. What you got above your line.

That second number is where power lives.

Catch you next week

We’ll explore how anchoring quietly manipulates your reservation value before you even sit down.

Scott