So You Want to Negotiate with Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart is the kind of partner-distributor that can put your products on the map, not to mention in the black.

But if you are lucky enough to land an agreement with the world's largest retailer, your work is only beginning. Now you have to negotiate terms, The Deal, and Wal-Mart by all reports can be a demanding bargainer. Are you up to the task?

In a recent article in the Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin, Negotiating With Wal-Mart, professor James Sebenius outlines a series of case studies about small firms that went head-to-head with the Bentonville Brawler and lived to tell the tale.

The takeaway: Driving a mutually agreeable deal with a large company such as Wal-Mart means price alone can't be the centerpiece of the interaction. Be prepared to talk about shared vision, information sharing, and problem solving. Trust is the biggest currency you can build.