The art of strategically revealing information is invaluable for dealmakers. Controlling the flow of info in a negotiation provides your side with the leverage necessary to tilt the balance of a deal in your favor.

Mediator, attorney, and BigSpeak EVP Ken Sterling has spent decades honing his negotiation skills on deals big and small, and is well aware of how best to employ intel when it comes to nudging things into your favor. In a recent article for Inc., he shared an instance in which having, and strategically revealing information, resulted in a deal that swung heavily in his organization’s favor.

Some years ago, while searching for space to host BigSpeak’s HQ, he was continually quoted exorbitant fees for rentals. As traditional office space was hard to come by at the time, he considered renting out vacant locations in a local mall. Mall management quoted him $40,000/ month, an impossibility for an organization of our scale.

Sterling didn’t lose heart, however, having done a little research on the side. Trough looking into loan covenants that demand malls be over 85% occupied in order to not default on their loans, he was able to simply walk through the local mall and do simple calculations to figure out they were indeed out of compliance re: occupancy. Brining this up during a negotiation allowed for him to get the space for $4,000/month. A huge difference, and a prime example of information offering real power when it comes to closing a deal in your favor.