Salary conversations for the offer-in-hand stage.
There's a client I worked with two springs ago who phoned me on a Tuesday with an offer in his inbox and a deadline of Friday. The irony being that the offer was, in absolute terms, a good one. The negotiation work that week was less about getting more money and more about working out which two of the three things he wanted to ask for were going to be the right two to lead with.
Who this work is for.
You have an offer or you expect one in the next ten days. The interview cycle is over. The role is one you'd consider taking. What you would like is to walk into the negotiation conversation with a clear view of what to ask for, in what order, and what the likely answers will mean before you have to reply on the spot. The thing about salary conversations is that the most important work happens before the call, not on it.
What I've come to believe over the years is that the bigger gains in offer negotiations are not in the headline number but in the surrounding terms: start date, sign-on, leave allowance, equity vesting, the part of the package that the hiring manager has more discretion over than they often advertise. We work through all of those, and we work out which to ask for and in which order.
What salary-conversation work covers.
- A read of the offer as it currently stands, with attention to the parts you might not be reading carefully: the bonus structure, the notice period, the vesting schedule if there is one, the relocation assistance, the trial period.
- A short list of what to ask for, prioritised. Most offers have one or two clear asks and a long tail of smaller items. We pick the ones that matter to you and the ones that the company can probably say yes to without escalation.
- A working script for the call. not lines to memorise, but a clear sequence of asks and likely follow-ups, with the language you'd use to make each ask sound considered rather than transactional.
- A read of what each likely answer means. Sometimes a "no" is a straightforward "no". Sometimes it's "let me check"; sometimes it's "we expected you to ask for something, and you've now used your one ask". Recognising the difference, in real time, is most of the skill.
- The signed-and-sent stage. Once the negotiation is done and you have a final offer, the last fifteen minutes of the engagement is about how to accept (or decline) cleanly, in writing, with a record you'd be comfortable showing to a future employer's reference team.
How the work runs when an offer is on the table.
- The fast booking call. Either the discovery call or the first proper session, depending on how tight your deadline is. We use this time to read the offer together and decide what is and isn't feasible to ask for.
- The script-and-rehearsal session. Sixty minutes, with the negotiation rehearsed at least once in real time. I take the part of the hiring manager. The first attempt is always too apologetic; the third attempt is usually about right.
- The check-in after the call. A short message exchange in the hours after your real negotiation, where I read the latest from the company and we agree on the next reply if there is one.
- The closing session. Once the offer is finalised, a brief final session to read the contract carefully and agree on the acceptance email or the polite decline.
Common questions about offer-stage work.
How quickly do I need to book if I have an offer in hand?
Most offers come with a response window of three to seven working days. The honest version is that within that window I can usually fit one 60-minute session, sometimes two. If the offer arrived this morning, get in touch today; if it arrived a week ago and you've been told to respond tomorrow, the time pressure changes what is feasible.
Will you negotiate on my behalf?
No. The conversation has to be yours, on your phone, in your voice. What I do is help you decide what to ask for, in what order, and how to phrase the asks so they don't sound rehearsed. I'll also help you decide what each likely answer means before you reply.
Can you help me decide whether to accept the offer at all?
That's a different conversation, and a useful one. About a third of the time, the work in this session ends up being not 'how do I negotiate this' but 'should I take this offer'. Both are within scope; I'd rather we get the right answer to that question than negotiate well on the wrong offer.
Format and pricing.
Every engagement is online or in person in Birmingham. There is no half-day workshop, no group programme, no upsell.