Got the offer? Now negotiate it.

READ TIME: 4 MINUTES

You landed the offer.

You're in sales. You know how to negotiate. And yet, something stops you.

What if they pull the offer? What if they think I'm being greedy? What if I push too hard and lose everything I just worked for?

I hear this constantly.

Here's what I know: not a single client of mine has ever lost an offer from negotiating. Not one. But over 80% of them have walked away with more.

Not convinced? Harvard Business Review backs this up — a negotiation is unlikely to jeopardize your offer.

One client almost didn't negotiate at all. After one conversation with someone in his network, he started to second-guess himself. We talked through it. He asked. He walked away with a guaranteed first quarter of commission worth $45K, plus 1% additional equity.

That's the type of money that you could use to fund a savings account in case you face a layoff in the future, invest, use towards a down payment, or splurge on a trip you've been wanting to take.

Don't let fear be the reason you don't negotiate.

What you're actually negotiating for

Most people think negotiation means pushing on base salary. Sometimes it does. But the right move starts with knowing what matters most to you. What's right for you isn't right for the next person.

Here's how I break it down:

If you want fast cash: Go after signing bonuses and guaranteed commission in the first quarter. Money upfront means it's in your pocket. You can invest it. It compounds. And if the organization has a layoff six months in, that extra $5K you negotiated in base? It's really only $2,500. A signing bonus is yours, immediately. No waiting.

One of my clients negotiated a signing bonus and was grateful they did. The leadership team turned over a few months after they joined and they left. If they'd focused on base salary instead, they wouldn't have earned that money back.

If you're building for the long term: This is the single best moment to increase your base. Annual reviews at most SaaS companies yield 3% to 5% increases. This negotiation is your shot at an extra $5K to $10K — or more — depending on how the base is structured versus the market. That's a window that doesn't reopen until your next job search.

And here's the math that makes it real.

Two candidates. Same company, same role. One negotiates the base from $100K to $105K. Both get 5% annual increases for 5 years.

Over those 5 years, the person who asked walks away with $27,628 more.

One conversation. One ask.

The impact is even bigger when you negotiate $10K or $15K more.

Know your market before you ask

You can't negotiate without data. Here's where to start:

• Look at active job postings for comparable roles — what are the base and OTE ranges?

• Every time you apply to a role, write down the posted base and OTE.

• Every recruiter conversation, ask: what's the OTE range for this role? What's the base salary?

• Use benchmarking sites like RepVue.

The goal isn't to come in with an unreasonable number. It's to come in with a defensible one.

The ask itself

Do NOT verbally accept the offer. Get the offer in writing. 

Before you pick up the phone, do your prep work.

Review your offer and identify 1–3 areas you want to negotiate. No more than 3, no fewer than 1. More than that and you risk pushing too hard. Fewer than that and you’re leaving money on the table.

Next, make sure you understand the compensation plan and ramp. This is one of the easiest places to land immediate cash and most candidates skip right past it.

Now you're ready to have the conversation.

Schedule a call. Do not manage a negotiation over email. You wouldn't negotiate a deal with a client over email if you could do it by phone. The same logic applies here.

When you get on the call, make it about them, not you. The hiring manager doesn't care that you have kids in college or live in an expensive city. What they care about is the impact you'll have on their team and not losing you to a competing offer. Point to your performance and benchmark data to drive the conversation. That's what moves the number.

The one exception: if you're being recruited away from a bonus or commission payout, that's when your personal situation becomes relevant context and a legitimate ask.

One thing I want to be clear about: the exact messaging matters. What you say as an AE is not what you say as an executive. One of my clients was preparing to negotiate and used Claude to draft his talking points. The language that came back was written for an executive, not for his level or his situation. I flagged it in our session. I gave him that feedback and Claude told him “Amanda is right, listen to your career coach.” 

He adjusted. He went into that conversation with the right message for the right context and walked away with $45K and 1% equity.  

That's the work we do in 1:1 coaching. If you want messaging built around your specific situation and the company you're walking into, that's where we start.

Look back at your career

You've been at 5 companies. How many times did you negotiate before you joined?

If the answer is 0, you've left real money on the table. And even if you negotiated at some of them, there's a good chance there was more on the table than you asked for.

This is the moment. You've done the hard work. You got the offer.

Now ask for what you're worth.

Hit reply and tell me: have you ever negotiated a job offer and if so, what did you ask for? I read every response.

To clarity and confidence in your career path, 

Amanda

See you next Sunday.

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