Negotiation is at the heart of programmatic advertising, shaping how deals are structured between advertisers, agencies, and publishers. Whether securing premium inventory, optimizing costs, or ensuring transparency, knowing how to navigate different negotiation scenarios is key to long-term success.
The global programmatic advertising market is projected to reach approximately $800 billion by 2028, reflecting its expansive trajectory. In the United States, programmatic advertising spending stood at $198 billion in 2022, underscoring the market's significance.
The competitive landscape requires BDMs to adeptly negotiate favorable pricing and secure premium inventory. According to Marketing Dive, in 2023, 59% of programmatic ad spending shifted to private marketplaces, highlighting a move towards more controlled and transparent environments. This shift necessitates strong negotiation skills to establish advantageous deals.
In an increasingly competitive and interconnected business environment, negotiation is not merely about striking deals but about creating long-term value, reducing costs, and fostering strong professional relationships. To illustrate this in practice, I will share my insights on effective negotiation strategies.
What to Know Before Starting a Negotiation
Communication with a company is a comprehensive process that begins with studying and evaluating the business. Before reaching out to a company for potential cooperation – whether it’s an incoming lead or an outreach from our side – I thoroughly review their profile. I look into the company’s main business aspects and its partners to understand how Intenze can be appealing to them and what mutual benefits our collaboration could bring. The company's website, blog, and social media pages, as well as external posts, articles, and additional materials provide valuable information for this analysis. Once I assess that the company aligns with our focus, I proceed to lead generation and initiate first contacts.
Effective negotiation in programmatic advertising requires a clear understanding of several critical factors that directly influence the potential value of a partnership. While pricing, inventory quality, brand safety, and data access are foundational, deeper insights often make the difference. For instance, it’s important to know what ad formats and types the company works with, as this defines compatibility and creative scope. When dealing with supply partners, understanding their traffic volumes is essential, while with demand partners, clarity on their monthly programmatic budgets can shape expectations. Identifying the representatives on either side – supply or demand – helps gauge decision-making power and operational scale. Additionally, knowing the geographic focus of their operations and whether they follow industry standards like ads.txt adds transparency and trust. Aligning on these points upfront lays the groundwork for a productive and mutually beneficial collaboration.
Core Skills Every Programmatic Negotiator Needs
To negotiate well in programmatic, you need to blend technical fluency with strategic empathy. It's part art, part math, and all about trust + value delivery. Master these skills, and you’ll move from vendor to must-have partner status real fast.
1. Deep technical understanding.
You’re not just selling a product – you’re negotiating in a space filled with acronyms, data, and algorithms.
What to master:
Ad tech stack (DSPs, SSPs, DMPs, CDPs)
Key metrics (CPM, eCPM, VCR, IVT, SPO)
Industry standards (ads.txt, sellers.json, GDPR, etc.)
2. Value-based selling.
Buyers don’t just want inventory or specific campaigns – they want outcomes. You need to position your solution in terms of performance, reach, or efficiency – not just cost. Use real data, use cases, or SPO or demand insights to frame your offer as a business advantage.
3. Data-backed storytelling.
Data builds credibility, but storytelling creates urgency and trust. Try to build a compelling narrative using company results, case studies, or partner growth. Explain how your stack solves real-world problems (e.g., latency, discrepancy, bid duplication, wasted spend).
4. Relationship building.
Long-term success in programmatic comes from partnerships, not quick wins. Stay engaged post-deal – check in, ask about feedback, optimize, and provide value constantly. And learn the buyer’s pain points and align your pitch around solving them.
5. Flexibility & customization.
One-size-fits-all rarely works in this space. Test campaigns, custom deal IDs, or format-specific packages (e.g., CTV-only). Tailor pricing and packaging to the partners KPIs and region.
6. Communication clarity.
You’re the bridge between sales, tech, and ops. You need to translate technical language into business value. Use clear, jargon-free explanations with non-technical stakeholders.
7. Objection handling.
Everyone has concerns – supply/demand quality risk, CPMs, fill rates, etc. Anticipate common objections and prepare data-driven rebuttals. And practice active listening: often, the real objection is deeper than the stated one.
8. KPI alignment & deal structuring.
Misaligned KPIs = failed campaigns = lost trust. Set clear expectations and define measurable goals. Build flexible deal terms that evolve as performance scales.
9. Patience & Persistence.
Programmatic deals often take time to align across multiple departments. You should be politely persistent, follow up strategically, and always bring new value with each touchpoint.
10. Continuous Learning.
The ad tech landscape evolves weekly.
How to stay sharp:
Follow thematic different sources, social media, podcasts, like Digiday, AdExchanger, ExchangeWire, AdTech God, etc.
Attend industry events and webinars.
Network with peers to keep your ear to the ground.
Common Mistakes in Programmatic Deal Negotiations
Based on experience in the industry, many advertisers and publishers focus on shortening their supply and demand chains by avoiding intermediaries who work with similar companies. While this approach may seem sensible, it also has drawbacks when it comes to the potential benefits of collaboration.
For instance, some publishers may hesitate to add ads.txt lines, as they see the names of companies they already partner with. Similarly, they might refuse to accept demand from certain partners to avoid duplicating their existing lists. While this may appear logical, incorporating these duplicate lines could actually create additional demand opportunities and enable campaigns that are currently unavailable to them, thereby allowing them to sell more of their traffic.
The same situation applies to advertisers who may decline inventory from certain publishers if they are already working with them. Our goal is to encourage all supply partners to keep their traffic opportunities open, regardless of existing relationships, across all websites, applications, ad formats, and ad sizes. This approach not only enhances opportunities for our demand partners but also ensures that they have access to inventory that these supply partners might otherwise restrict.
If advertisers and publishers shift their attitudes and become more open about this, all parties will ultimately benefit.
Knowing the common mistakes on both sides of the table can really give you an edge when structuring or negotiating deals. Here’s a breakdown of the most frequent missteps.
Common Mistakes Advertisers Make:
Focusing only on price (e.g., lowest CPM). Cheaper inventory often leads to lower quality, poor viewability, or brand safety risks. Balance cost with performance, placement, and audience quality.
Overlooking transparency. Not pushing for supply path transparency or accepting “black box” reports from partners. Demand log-level data, use ads.txt/sellers.json, and work with partners that are SPO-friendly.
Ignoring fraud & brand safety measures. Assuming inventory is clean without verifying. Use third-party verification tools (e.g., IAS, Double Verify, The Media Trust, MOAT, etc.), and ensure brand safety filters are in place.
Not testing inventory sources before scaling. Going big on untested supply paths or publishers. Start small, analyze performance, then scale based on real KPIs.
Failing to align on KPIs. Vague performance expectations or focusing on vanity metrics. They need to be specific—set clear goals (e.g., viewability rate, VCR, CPA), and ensure both sides agree on how success is measured.
Common Mistakes Publishers Make:
Not understanding buyer goals. Pushing volume over quality or ignoring advertiser performance needs. Learn what buyers want (e.g., geo, format, audience) and tailor supply packages accordingly.
Underestimating the value of data. Not monetizing or packaging first-party data effectively. Offer contextual, behavioral, or audience segments (in a privacy-compliant way).
Failing to maintain clean inventory. Running cluttered pages, invalid traffic, or mislabeling formats. Ensure quality control and monitor for IVT (Invalid Traffic) constantly.
No clear value proposition. Approaching buyers without highlighting what makes their inventory unique. Try to emphasize premium placements, engaged audiences, or exclusive formats.
Both sides often fall into the trap of chasing quick wins or defaulting to "how it's always been done." The most successful programmatic partnerships are built on shared goals, data transparency, performance accountability, and clean supply/demand paths. Avoiding these common mistakes sets the stage for scalable, long-term success.
What Makes Programmatic Negotiations Difficult
Negotiating programmatic advertising deals often involves navigating a complex and fragmented landscape. One of the most persistent challenges is transparency and trust. Buyers frequently struggle to gain visibility into where their ads are running, how pricing is structured, and what fees are being taken by intermediaries. This lack of clarity raises concerns around brand safety and cost efficiency. Tools such as ads.txt, sellers.json, and log-level data sharing can help address these issues, but they require mutual commitment.
A further complexity lies in the tradeoff between performance and scale. While advertisers aim to maximize both, overly narrow targeting can restrict reach, while overly broad strategies may dilute campaign effectiveness. Establishing clear performance expectations and offering optimization flexibility (e.g., balancing CPM vs. CPC goals) can help align priorities.
Access to high-quality data and targeting also plays a crucial role in deal outcomes. Negotiations around first-, second-, and third-party data are complicated by evolving privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. Transparency around data usage and partnerships with compliant DMPs can serve as a competitive advantage.
Technical integration and latency, especially for CTV or in-app inventory, can significantly affect campaign delivery. Slow or complex integrations reduce bid efficiency in real-time environments. Early involvement of technical teams and setting clear performance SLAs are essential.
Differences in pricing models and margin expectations between publishers, DSPs, and agencies can also stall negotiations. Aligning financial goals through flexible deal types – such as PMPs, programmatic guaranteed, or volume-based incentives – can reduce friction.
Persistent concerns around brand safety and ad fraud further complicate discussions. Invalid traffic and low-quality inventory not only waste budgets but can also damage brand integrity. Leveraging third-party verification tools (e.g., IAS, Human, Pixalate, The Media Trust) and prioritizing direct, verified inventory sources are necessary safeguards.
Lastly, channel and market fragmentation introduces challenges in executing global deals across multiple formats, regions, and regulatory environments. To ensure consistency and performance, it's critical to collaborate with partners who offer both global infrastructure and localized expertise – particularly in regions like LATAM, APAC, and EMEA.
Together, these challenges make programmatic negotiations multidimensional, requiring technical understanding, strategic planning, and cross-functional collaboration.
Advice for Those New to Programmatic Negotiation
Negotiating in the programmatic world is a blend of tech, data, relationships, and strategy. If you are just starting or new with it, here’s some practical advice to help you walk in with confidence and close smarter deals:
1. Understand the industry ecosystem before you negotiate. Know who the players are: publishers, agencies, ad networks, DSPs, SSPs, – and how they interact. Learn the lingo: CPM, PMP, SPO, IVT, VCR, floor price, QPS... it’s a language of its own. It shows credibility, prevents you from being oversold, and helps you understand the things quickly and correctly during negotiations.
2. Lead with data, not assumptions. Use performance benchmarks, win rates, SPO reports, or fill rate trends to guide the conversation. Ask for data, too: "What CPMs do you typically see from top partners?" or "How do you measure connection success?" Programmatic is driven by numbers – data-backed negotiation is hard to argue against.
3. Build relationships first, deals second. Programmatic may be automated, but the partnerships behind it are very human. You may have heard it from other sources about sales or how to make a business relationship, but… it works! Take time to understand the other side’s goals, KPIs, focus, and challenges. Don’t just sell – try to be useful to solve any questions or challenges the potential partner has. A quick intro call goes a long way compared to cold email attempts with multiple follow-ups.
4. Customize your pitch. Don’t be the same and repeat your scripts for everyone. Learn about the prospect and then offer relevant opportunities that can accommodate their capabilities and goals. "You’re running In-App campaigns in the EU? We have premium direct In-App traffic in Germany and France." Don’t tell that you work everywhere with everyone; start to focus on what they handle.
5. Ask smart, open-ended questions. Here are some examples:
"What’s most important to you – scale, quality, or cost?"
"What are your biggest challenges with current partners?"
“What are your main expectations of new connections?”
These questions surface pain points you can solve with your offer.
6. Start small, scale fast. Don’t push for huge commitments out of the gate. Offer a test period with a clear goal. Set expectations: "If it performs well, we can scale and build a preferred connection structure." This also helps to see the opportunities and threats of further activity for both sides, which can be improved or solved. Keeps the barrier to entry low, and gives you a foothold.
7. Be transparent about your capabilities. Don’t overprice and overpromise. Be clear on:
What inventory or demand you offer;
How your tech works;
Any limitations or minimums.
Transparency earns respect and avoids future headaches.
8. Keep learning. The space evolves fast: new ad formats, privacy laws, platform updates. Subscribe to industry blogs, channels, podcasts, etc. (e.g., AdExchanger, Digiday, ExchangeWire, AdTech God, Programmatic Pulse), attend webinars, and follow key voices on LinkedIn. The more you know, the better you’ll negotiate – and the more valuable you’ll become.
Doing programmatic deals is a mix of education, empathy, and execution. Learn the landscape, ask smart questions, and focus on creating win-win outcomes. The best deals are about building partnerships that scale.
Final Thoughts
Negotiating programmatic deals successfully means combining technical knowledge, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking. It’s not just about what you’re offering – it’s about how well you understand your partner, how clearly you communicate value, and how adaptable you are throughout the process.
At the end of the day, the best deals are not just transactions – they’re scalable partnerships built on trust, performance, and shared success.