Why Price Isn't the Biggest Factor on Big Deals

Most deals aren't won on price alone. Align your value proposition with your buyer's strategic needs and the deal will get bigger and possibly better.

When Walmart sold Warren Buffett their McLane Company Division, which was valued at $22 billion in 2003 at the time of the sale, they made a choice they never made before-to sell a part of the company. Was it the money? A fair question, but Walmart has plenty of money-and although the $1.45 billion cash acquisition price was a nice chunk of change-the real reason was strategic benefit.