Bring your discrepancy list from the Offer Scorecard — every gap on it is an agenda item, and this is the agenda. Two parties already want this deal; what's left is settling its terms. You'll prepare the ask, map your alternative, have one calm conversation — and then make the decision the whole search has been pointing at. Yours.
Section 1
The Ask
Before anything else — the price of not asking:
~40%
of candidates never negotiate at all. Overwhelmingly, the reason is fear.
5–10%
the typical improvement a reasonable negotiation earns on a first offer.
~75%
of the people who ask, get some or all of it.
Over a career, the fear tax compounds into six figures. Employers expect a professional counter — a calm, well-reasoned ask has never, by itself, cost a reasonable candidate a real offer. You're not risking the deal. You're finishing it.
What's negotiablemore than salary — usually much more
Money: base salary · signing bonus · performance bonus · equity · relocation Time: start date · PTO · flexible hours · remote or hybrid days Growth: title · responsibilities · development budget · certifications · mentorship · early performance review Life: health coverage tier · retirement match · commuting · equipment · childcare support · wellness
My requests
From your Scorecard's discrepancy list. Each request gets a priority, a reason, evidence, and a range.
Four is the ceiling on purpose. Negotiate only what truly matters — more than four asks isn't a negotiation; it's reopening the whole deal.
If you need workplace accommodations to do your best work — schedule structure, environment, tools — that conversation is protected by law and it is a right, not a concession. It doesn't spend your negotiation capital, and it doesn't belong to the haggling. Raise it plainly, in writing, whenever you're ready.
Present your requests together, once — with reasons.
A package with rationale reads as professional. A drip-feed of asks reads as moving goalposts.
The BATNA Map
Your quiet power. BATNA — your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement — is what you'll do if this deal doesn't close. You don't say it in the room. You map it before the room, because knowing it is what keeps your voice level.
"No, thank you" is your biggest bargaining chip — and knowing you can play it is usually what makes you never need to.
The conversation — six moves
1Open warm, with intent."I'm excited about this and I want to make it work — I'd like to talk through a few terms." You're finishing a deal, not filing grievances.
2Present the package. All your requests, together, each with its reason and evidence. Then stop talking and let them work.
3Don't get defensive. Pushback is process, not verdict. Find the intent behind the question and answer that.
4Redirect ultimatums. "That's not negotiable" usually means that isn't — ask what is. "Understood — where is there flexibility?"
5Play the rebounds. A no today can be a yes on a schedule: "Could we revisit this at a 90-day review — and put that in writing?"
6Get final terms in writing. Every agreed change, in the written offer, before you sign. Warmly, absolutely, always.
Practical FAQsthe logistics of the call
They said the salary is non-negotiable.Sometimes true — banded government, union, and some internal roles. So negotiate the band's edges and everything else: start date, PTO, development, review timing, remote days. "Non-negotiable" almost never means nothing is negotiable.
I have two offers.The good problem. Be transparent with both (your Exception Update template), never bluff an offer that isn't in writing, and let the Scorecard's comparison columns decide — not the flattery of being wanted twice.
I'm afraid they'll pull the offer.Rescissions over a polite, well-reasoned counter are vanishingly rare. And an employer who would pull an offer over a professional ask has just shown you the culture — that's your Scorecard protecting you, not your negotiation failing you.
When does this conversation happen?After the written offer, before your agreed deadline — by phone or video if possible (tone travels badly in email; summaries travel well in it).
What about salary questions during interviews?That was your Game Day Card: range + redirect. This conversation — the real one — happens now, when they've already chosen you. This is when your leverage peaks.
Section 2
The Decision
Negotiated or not — the deal is now in front of you, and the last move of the search is a choice. Not a default, not a relief reflex. A choice.
Your criteria already exist — they're the needs and weighted wants on your Offer Scorecard. Don't rebuild them. Reread them.
The alternatives
What this path really looks like
My next action on it
What this path really looks like
My next action on it
What this path really looks like
My next action on it
Honest best-and-worst for each — including the quiet cost of the safe one. "Decline and continue" is a real path: your search runs on a system now; it doesn't restart, it resumes.
Gut, then mind, then one voice — in this order
1
2
3
Gut and mind agreeing is clarity. Gut and mind disagreeing is information — that's what the trusted voice (your coach counts) is for. Schedule that conversation before the deadline, never the night of.
The Commitment Line
Signed — a true signature line; some commitments belong in ink
Chosen, not defaulted. Whatever you wrote above — you decided it, with criteria, with alternatives, with your eyes open. That's the skill. It's yours now, for every career decision after this one.
Section 3
Declining Well
If the answer is no — decline like someone who might work with these people someday. Because you might.
Subject: [Role] offer — my decision
Dear [Name],
Thank you for the offer to join [Company] as [Role], and for the care your team showed throughout the process. After careful consideration, I've decided to decline — this comes down to [one honest, gracious line: fit with my direction / another opportunity / the terms my situation requires], not to the team or the work, which impressed me.
I'd be glad to stay in touch, and I hope our paths cross again.
With appreciation,
[Your name]
Brief, warm, one honest reason, zero apology. Today's declined employer is next year's warm contact — the bridge stays standing.
Most people never ask, and most decisions get defaulted. Not this one, and not yours.
Build this sheet from your Scorecard's discrepancy list — or run it once on a hypothetical offer from your Plan A list so the machinery exists before it's needed. Bring it to your coaching call: the ask gets rehearsed out loud, and no one decides alone on a deadline they told us about. Your entries save automatically on this device.
THE CLOSING KIT — Close Map · Story Bank · Interview Gameplan Card · Game Day Kit · Offer Scorecard · Deal Sheet (you are here)
