SMARTnership™ and NegoEconomics™ 

SMARTnership is a research-based negotiation methodology designed to create and capture value that traditional negotiation approaches often miss.

What is SMARTnership?

SMARTnership is a globally recognised negotiation methodology developed by Dr Keld Jensen.

Unlike traditional win/lose approaches, SMARTnership focuses on creating and sharing additional value by identifying differences in cost, risk, priorities and objectives between the parties.

The result is a negotiation process that seeks to improve outcomes for both sides rather than simply redistributing existing value. 

SMARTnership logo

What Is NegoEconomics?

Dr. Keld Jensen
Dr. Keld Jensen

NegoEconomics sits at the heart of the SMARTnership methodology.

It focuses on identifying asymmetries between negotiating parties:

  • different costs
  • different priorities
  • different risks
  • different opportunities
  • different perceptions of value

By identifying and quantifying those differences, negotiators can often uncover value that would otherwise remain hidden.

Research and practical application suggest that this approach can generate significant additional value compared with traditional negotiation methods.

Why Traditional Negotiation Falls Short

Most negotiators focus on:

  • price, 
  • positions, 
  • concessions, 
  • compromise. 

 

As a result, valuable opportunities remain hidden.

SMARTnership starts from a different premise:

Every negotiation contains value that has not yet been identified, measured or exchanged.

The challenge is knowing how to find it.

Two business women sat at a desk.

The Four Elements of SMARTnership

Strategy

Choosing the right negotiation strategy before entering the discussion.

TrustCurrency

Understanding trust as a negotiable and measurable asset.

Rules of the Game

Designing information flows, sequencing and decision rights that support better outcomes.

NegoEconomics

Quantifying value, cost and asymmetry to uncover opportunities hidden within the deal.

Businessmen in office with a pen and contract in the foreground

Why Organisations invest in SMARTnership

SMARTnership is particularly valuable for:

  • Strategic sales negotiations 
  • Procurement and supply chain negotiations 
  • Long-term commercial agreements 
  • Major projects 
  • M&A negotiations 
  • Complex stakeholder environments 
  • High-value customer and supplier relationships 

The methodology has been applied across industries including manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, technology and government. 

Global Recognition

SMARTnership has been recognised among the world’s leading negotiation methodologies and has been taught to thousands of professionals worldwide.

Dr Keld Jensen is the author of numerous books on negotiation and has spent more than three decades researching value creation, trust and negotiation behaviour. 

SMARTnership Training with Devant

SMARTnership Negotiation Training Masterclass

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Tiffany Kemp in the meeting room
SMARTnership logo

Tiffany Kemp is a certified SMARTnership partner and delivers SMARTnership negotiation programmes in the UK.

Her background in commercial contracts, contract drafting, negotiation strategy and risk allocation provides a practical commercial perspective that complements the SMARTnership methodology.

Programmes can be delivered as:

  • Public workshops 
  • In-house programmes 
  • Executive coaching 
  • Negotiation preparation workshops 
  • Part of the wider Devant Contracting Performance Framework 

Why SMARTnership Fits Within the Devant Framework

SMARTnership is one of the methodologies used within the Equip stage of the Devant Contracting Performance Framework.

It helps organisations develop the capability, judgement and negotiation approach needed to operate effectively within the contracting structures and governance frameworks developed during the Assess and Align stages.

Take your company to the next level

Ready to Explore SMARTnership?

Better contracts are not the goal.

Better commercial outcomes are.