Making “no” your friend
“Oh my god, they said “No”!! I am so excited!”
my client told me a few weeks ago about the salary negotiation she was engaged in with a company for a potential role. And I shared her joy: this was GREAT news!
This may seem surprising if being rejected sounds like your worst nightmare, but hear me out.
If you don’t get a “no” in response to your first offer in any negotiation, you got what negotiation experts call a variation of “the winner’s curse”, ie that sinking feeling that getting what you asked for isn’t a good deal for you after all. In short: it means you left money on the table.
So getting a “no” is a fabulous thing, because it means you haven’t made that classic mistake of having asked for too little. My client knew this well (because I repeat this ad nauseum to the ladies in my program) and so she was happy to receive that rejection of her ambitious anchor in the salary negotiations for a General Counsel position. In the past, she would have winced if she had been rejected. In fact, she argued she would never have received it in the first place, low-balling herself pre-emptively out of fear she would get that “no”.
Having done the mindset work I asked her to do in the run up to these negotiations, this time she realised what a great first step this was. “Bring it on!” she told herself.
Shortly after, the new company counter-offered with a slightly lower number, making up for the decrease with a bonus set-up that was interesting. After a few more chats, they settled on a number that made both sides very happy.
What can we learn from this badass WINner?
Embrace the “no”. Expect the “no”. Get excited about the “no”.
Say it with me: “no” is where the fun starts!
If this is not quite how you feel right now, ping me to see if I can help you over this and other negotiation hurdles so you can receive the success you deserve.
Book a call with my team for a free coaching session and let’s see what we can do for you!