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The 80 / 20 of negotiating your next offer

March 22, 2026

I sit with women preparing for senior-role conversations almost every week. The 80/20 of what actually moves the needle is small, repetitive, and unsexy.

Ask in writing, not in the call. The instinct in a tense negotiation conversation is to make your ask and see what comes back. Don't. Use the call to listen, to clarify, to thank. Then put your ask in an email afterwards.

Negotiate a range, not a number. 'Between X and Y, depending on the scope and start date' is harder to push back on than a single number. It signals you've thought about the trade-offs.

Name the alternatives. Not 'I have another offer at €X' — usually a bluff. But 'My alternative is staying in my current role for another six months, which means we'd need to be aligned on Y for me to make the move now.' That's true, specific, and hard to argue with.

The 80 / 20 of negotiating your next offer · Anna Mendoza Coaching