Negotiate with confidence (and data)

Most people freeze when the offer lands. Not because they don't want more — because the offer took months to earn and asking feels like risking it. So they say yes in the same phone call and wonder about it for a year.

Reframe what a counter is

Companies expect negotiation; a polite, grounded counter reads as competence, not greed. You're not challenging the offer — you're finishing the conversation the offer started. Almost no reasonable company withdraws an offer because you asked a professional question professionally.

Work from your actual numbers

• Write down the whole offer first: base, equity, bonus, and the deadline. The package negotiates, not just the salary line.
• Pick the lever that matters for this offer. Sometimes base moves; sometimes it's equity, a signing bonus, a review date, or a start date. Countering everything at once counters nothing.
• Anchor to facts you can say out loud: the range for the role, a competing conversation if you truly have one, the specific value you bring. If you can't say it plainly, don't lean on it.
• Decide your yes-number before the call — the point where you'll accept happily and stop.

Then say it simply: you're excited, you want to make this work, and based on the role and the range you'd like them to look at one specific number. Silence afterwards is normal. Let it sit.