How to Negotiate a Salary Offer (With the Exact Script I Give My Clients)

The short version: Never accept a first offer on the spot, say thank you, ask for 24 to 48 hours, then come back with one clear number backed by market data and a reason you're worth it. Use a short, calm script rather than a long justification, because the longer you talk the weaker you sound.

The bit nobody tells you before you negotiate

Here's what most career advice gets wrong: it tells you negotiating "costs you nothing" and offers never get pulled. That's not entirely true. I've watched it happen twice in fifteen years of coaching people through offers, both times to candidates who came back with a number 30 percent above the offer and no reasoning behind it at all, delivered as a demand rather than a conversation. The company withdrew both times, not because they negotiated, but because of how they did it.

The real risk isn't negotiating. It's negotiating badly, with an unrealistic number, an aggressive tone, or zero market evidence. Do it and the downside is close to zero. I say this to every client I work with: recruiters expect a counter. What they don't expect, and what makes them uneasy, is someone who negotiates like they're trying to win a fight rather than reach an agreement.

Do this before you say a single word about money

Most people start typing a counter-offer email before they've done thirty minutes of homework. That's backwards.

• Check what the role pays. UK readers can use the Office for National Statistics earnings data for a sanity check on regional and sector pay, then layer on more current figures from job boards for your exact title.
• Work out your number, not a range. Ranges get anchored to the bottom every time. Pick one figure that's ambitious but defensible.
• Write down three reasons you're worth it that have nothing to do with your bills. "I need more money" moves nobody. "I brought in £2.3 million in new business at my last role, this offer sits 12 percent below the market rate for that scope of work" moves people.
• Decide your floor, the number below which you walk away. If you don't know this before the call, you'll agree to something you'll resent by March.

The exact script to use when they give you a verbal or written offer

Whether this happens on the phone or in an email, the shape is the same. Here's what I tell clients to say, word for word, adjusted for their own numbers:

"Thank you so much for the offer, I'm excited about the role and the team. Before I confirm, can I take 48 hours to look over the details ?"

Say nothing else. Don't accept, don't reject, don't hint at a number. This single pause is where most people lose their nerve and either accept immediately or start negotiating with no preparation at all.

Then, once you've done your homework, come back with this:

"Thanks again for the offer, I've had a proper look at the package. I'm keen to move forward, and based on my research into similar roles at this level, plus the scope of what I'd be bringing in [specific skill, result, or years of experience], I was hoping we could get closer to [your number]. Is there flexibility there?"

That's it. One clear number, one sentence of justification, one open question. No apology, no over-explaining, no "I hope that's not too much to ask." If you want the fuller written version of this for email specifically, I've laid out the full structure in how to negotiate salary over email professionally, including subject lines that get answered instead of ignored.

A real negotiation, with the actual numbers

I coached a marketing director candidate through this exact situation last year. She'd been offered £52,000 for a role in the Southeast of England, a step up from her previous £46,000 salary. She was thrilled, ready to sign, and thought asking for more would look ungrateful.

We spent forty minutes on research. The role sat closer to £58,000 to £62,000 for someone with her exact background running paid social budgets north of £500,000, which she'd done for three years. She sent a version of the script above, asked for £59,000, and named the budget figure as her reason.

The recruiter came back within a day. Not the full amount, but £56,500, plus an extra day of annual leave and a review at four months instead of the usual twelve. That's £4,500 more per year for one email that took her twenty minutes to write, and a faster path to her next pay review. The company didn't blink, withdraw, or push back with any irritation. They'd expected a counter and had room built in for exactly this.

That's the pattern I see constantly. Most employers build 5 to 10 percent of flexibility into an initial offer specifically because they expect some negotiation. Accepting the first number on the table doesn't make you agreeable, it just means you leave that built-in margin on the table for nobody's benefit.

If they say the offer is fixed

Sometimes it is, particularly in the public sector or larger corporates with rigid pay bands. If that happens, don't just fold. Ask about the parts of the package that aren't salary:

• Signing bonus, particularly if you're walking away from an unvested bonus at your current job
• Extra annual leave, usually easier to grant than base pay increases
• An earlier salary review date, three or six months instead of twelve
• Flexible or remote working days written into the contract, not just verbally agreed
• Professional development budget or a specific course or certification paid for

A script for this exact moment: "I understand the base salary is fixed at this level. Given that, is there flexibility on the signing bonus, holiday allowance, or an early review date instead?" That single sentence has got clients an extra £1,500 signing bonus and a review moved from twelve months to six on offers where the base number couldn't move.

Mistakes that quietly kill a negotiation

Justifying the ask with personal circumstances rather than market value. Nobody's hiring budget adjusts because your rent went up, but it will adjust because you're underpriced against the market rate for the role.

Negotiating over text or in a rushed hallway conversation. Do it in writing or on a scheduled call where you've had time to prepare, never off the cuff.

Giving a range instead of a number. "Somewhere between 50 and 55" gets you 50 every single time.

Apologising throughout the ask. Watch your language for "sorry to ask" or "I know this might be a lot." Strip it out entirely before you send anything.

Negotiating without a floor in mind, then accepting whatever comes back out of relief that the awkward part is over. Know your number before the call starts, not during it.

If this is happening as part of a promotion rather than a fresh job offer, the framing shifts slightly, and I've written a separate script for that exact situation in how to ask for a higher salary during a promotion, since the use points are different when you're already inside the business.

What to say out loud, if you hate scripts

Some people freeze the moment they try to recite a script word for word. If that's you, memorise the shape instead of the sentence: thank them, ask for time, come back with one number and one reason, ask if there's flexibility, stay quiet after you've said it. Silence after your ask is doing work. Don't fill it.

If the conversation is happening entirely by email because that's how the offer came through, follow the structure I set out in how to write a salary negotiation email that gets a positive response, particularly the part about keeping the whole message under 150 words. Long emails read as anxious. Short ones read as confident.

When the offer is low and you need to walk

Not every negotiation ends in a yes. If your floor and their ceiling don't meet, and they've made that clear after two rounds of back and forth, it's fine to say: "I really appreciate the offer and the time you've taken on this. Based on where we've landed, I don't think this is quite the right fit for me at this stage, but I'd love to stay in touch." That door stays open. Recruiters remember candidates who left gracefully far more than they remember the exact number that fell through.

If money isn't the whole picture, worth reading how to negotiate a higher salary during a job offer for the wider view on timing an ask around the full offer rather than just the base figure, since benefits, bonus structure, and start date can all move alongside salary.

Frequently asked questions

Should I give a number first or wait for them to ask?

Wait if you can. Once you have a written offer, you're no longer guessing, you're responding to a real figure with your own researched counter, which is a stronger position than naming a number blind earlier in the process.

How much more should I ask for above the initial offer?

Aim for 5 to 15 percent above the number you've been offered, based on solid market research for the exact role and level, not a round figure pulled from nowhere. Asking for more than 20 percent above the offer without strong justification is where negotiations start to break down.

Is it rude to negotiate a first job offer?

No. Employers build room into most offers expecting a counter. What reads as difficult isn't the negotiation itself, it's an aggressive tone, an unrealistic number, or no reasoning behind the ask at all.

What if the recruiter says the offer is final?

Ask about flexibility elsewhere in the package instead, such as a signing bonus, extra holiday, or an earlier salary review date. These often move even when the base salary cannot.

Related reading: What to Say When Negotiating Your Salary (The Exact Words That Get You More) and How to Negotiate a Salary Increase With a Promotion.