[Negotiation] A stakeholder only wants the lowest price. How do you broaden the conversation?

I would not dismiss the cost pressure, because that usually makes procurement sound tone-deaf. Instead, I would show what else the business is actually buying with the decision: reliability, service, lead-time stability, quality, capacity access, or easier execution. The question is not whether price matters. It is whether it is the only variable worth paying attention to here.

Once the...