If your negotiation reaches an impasse, what’s your best outside option? Most business negotiators understand the value of assessing their best alternative to a negotiated agreement, or BATNA, a concept introduced in Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton’s classic negotiation text Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. Knowing that you have a strong BATNA can give you the confidence you need to walk away from a subpar agreement.

Beyond merely assessing your BATNA, there are a number of steps you can follow to take your negotiation strategy to the next level—and make a good alternative even better.

Here’s an overview of three of them:

1. Do a thorough comparison.

Don’t just compare your current deal to your BATNA on a single focal issue, such as price. Instead, take time to compare the two possibilities point by point. When you do so, you may discover hidden advantages of one or the other.

2. Assess probabilities.

Because your BATNA may not be a sure thing, try to calculate your probabilistic BATNA—the full range of possibilities if the current negotiation fails and the probabilities associated with each. This type of analysis can help you identify holes in your BATNA, determine your risk tolerance, and identify possible moves and countermoves.

3. Examine their BATNA.

Thinking through and improving your own BATNA isn’t sufficient. You also need to consider the other party’s BATNA as carefully and objectively as you scrutinize your own. Asking “What will they do without a deal?” can provide valuable insight.

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