The Framework

The L.A.T.T.E. Negotiation Framework

If you get overwhelmed about how to prepare for negotiations, try this framework to cover the basics.

Yes, my passion for coffee led me to create this acronym. It is official: coffee is my super power.

L.A.T.T.E. is a five-step preparation system for high-stakes workplace conversations, from Don't Leave Money on the Table. Each letter is a step you complete before, during, or after the conversation. Preparation is most of the negotiation. The script is the easy part.

  1. Look at the details

    Gather the facts: the situation, the data, the stakes, and who holds power in the room. This is where you replace what you assume you are worth with what the role actually pays, so your ask is anchored to something outside your own head.

  2. Anticipate the challenges

    Prepare for pushback. Name the objections you expect and plan a response to each one. An objection you have already rehearsed cannot rattle you the way a surprise can.

  3. Think about your walk-away point

    Set your strategy in three numbers: your target outcome, your acceptable outcome, and your walk-away point. This is the step people skip, and skipping it is how you end up negotiating against yourself.

  4. Talk it through

    Execute the conversation: how you open, how you make the ask, and how you hold your position. The conviction comes from the preparation above, not from a clever line you land in the room.

  5. Evaluate options

    Reflect afterward on what worked, what did not, and what you would do differently next time. Then put the outcome in writing and drive the follow-up yourself.

You do not have to announce your walk-away point. You just have to know it.

The cost of skipping preparation compounds over a career. In Women Don't Ask, economist Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever estimate that by neglecting to negotiate the starting salary for her first job, a woman may sacrifice over half a million dollars in earnings by the end of her career.

Put it to work on your next conversation.

The free prep sheet walks you through all five steps on one page, so you set your three numbers before you walk into the room instead of deciding them under pressure.

Get the Free Prep Sheet