negotiation

A foundational thing about negotiation: the other side is not your friend, and they don’t work for you.

The reality is that negotiation is all about preparation and leverage.

Don’t share much information in early stage. They can use it against you later in negotiations. It’s hard to walk things back.

Do not reveal information too early. Try to avoid negotiating too early. Both are two sides of the same coin.

Be genuine.

Negotiation isn’t about saying the right thing. It’s about laying a foundation: not revealing anything until you’re ready to negotiate, not negotiating too early, and making sure that you’re set yourself up to have multiple offers.

So, basically, telling them things right away will only hurt you and never help you.

Something to say “I don’t feel equiped to throw out a number because I’d like to find out more about the opportunity first”.

“If you end up making me an offer, I would be more than happy to iterate on it if needed and figure out something that works”.

“I would very much appreciate having a bit more time.”

“I promise not to accept other offers until I have a chance to discuss them with you”.

“I promise to keep you in the loop, and I promise not to accept other offer until I have a chance to discuss them with you.”