Distributive negotiation is when two (or more) parties are trying to claim the maximum amount of value for themselves. In our used car sale example, the salesman wants to make the largest amount of money possible, while the buyer wants to pay the least amount of money possible. We might refer to this type of situation as a “fixed pie”. The focus is on individual gain—the parties will divide the pie and focus on getting as must as possible for themselves. This is different from situations where the parties try to make the entire pie bigger, so there is enough profit/gain and value to satisfy everyone. In a distributive negotiation, one negotiating party will inevitably lose something, and the other will gain as a result.