Write a negotiation email.
The message that asks for what you want, gives the other side room to say yes, and doesn't come across as either aggressive or apologetic.
You need to negotiate something — a salary offer, a service quote, a contract term, a rent renewal. Email is the medium (better than a call for anchoring). The typical templates online read as either desperate or entitled. This prompt writes the one that reads confident and reasonable.
THE PROMPT
Draft a negotiation email for the following situation. I'll describe what I'm asking for and the context below.
Rules:
- No apologetic opener ("I hate to bring this up but...").
- No aggressive close ("I look forward to your prompt reply").
- No entitled framing ("given my qualifications" without evidence).
- Name what I want clearly, in the first paragraph, with a specific number or specific ask.
- Give the other party a defensible reason to say yes — not just what I want, but why saying yes is reasonable for them.
- Leave room for a counter. "Non-negotiable" language should be reserved for things that actually are.
- One paragraph, three-paragraph max. Under 200 words.
Structure the email as:
- **Paragraph 1**: The ask. Concrete, quantified where possible.
- **Paragraph 2**: The reason. Grounded in facts, not adjectives. Cite specific evidence (comparable offers, market data, prior agreement language, what I've delivered).
- **Paragraph 3**: The out. What flexibility exists, and the next step. Leaves them with a path to yes that they can defend to their own stakeholders.
Also give me:
**What I'm giving up by asking this way**
One sentence — what's the risk in this framing that a more aggressive or more submissive version would avoid.
**The specific worst case if they say no**
One sentence — what am I prepared to do if they hold firm.
Situation:
[DESCRIBE THE NEGOTIATION — what they offered, what you want, what your leverage is]**Email**
Subject: Following up on the offer — one item
Hi [Recruiter],
Thanks for the written offer yesterday. On base salary, I'd like to close the gap between the $145K you've offered and $165K, which is where the two most recent comparable offers I've received have landed. I'd sign at $160K.
The reason to consider: my last three years running $80M in P&L for [prior employer] map directly onto the scope your job description names, and the two other offers I mentioned reflect the market for that profile in [city]. I'm not asking for a step-up from those offers — I'm asking to close the gap between yours and theirs.
I'm flexible on the split between base and equity if the total-cash constraint is tight — a $155K base with an additional equity grant closes a lot of the gap and is easier to justify internally, in my experience. Happy to jump on a call this week if it's easier than email.
Best,
Rae
**What I'm giving up by asking this way**
Naming the specific alternate offers gives away leverage — they now know my true walk-away is a real place, not a bluff. In exchange, the ask reads specific and non-inflated, which is what unlocks yes.
**The specific worst case if they say no**
You take the $145K offer, or you take one of the alternate offers. Both are viable. This email is not written from a position where "no" is a disaster.