Negotiate without a competing offer

Negotiate salary with market data and scope when you do not have another offer. The script says you do not, and it does not tell you to invent one.

Currency Base salary Annual base, before bonus. Annual bonus Expected cash bonus for the year, not a percent. Equity, yearly value A yearly value you believe. Leave blank if you will not treat it as cash. Equity terms Your target The number you would accept, not a padded one. That target is Role Optional. Used so the script can name the job.

What you can say honestly I have a competing offer I can describe Competing offer, in your words Leave this blank if you do not have one. The script will not invent it. Scope you can defend Current total pay Optional. Spoken only if you check the box below. I will say this current-pay number. It is the real one. Market data you will cite

Channel Tone

The script updates on this page. These boxes are not uploaded.

Your script

Base $150,000. Annual bonus $15,000. Equity yearly value $20,000.

Priced total: $185,000.

Target total compensation: $195,000.

Target is $10,000 above the priced figure, about 5.4%.

Opener

Thanks for walking me through the offer. I am interested in the software engineer role, and I want to talk about compensation while we can still shape the package.

Say this, then stop. Let them respond before you add the number.

Anchor and justification

I am targeting $195,000 in total compensation.

From what I can price today: $150,000 base, $15,000 bonus, $20,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.

That priced total is $185,000. I am asking for $10,000 more, about 5.4%, which is my target and not a padded number.

The market check I can cite is that published ranges for this level in my city sit around $180,000 to $200,000 total. The scope I can defend is this. I own a production service and I am the person on call for it. I do not have another offer, and I am not going to pretend I do. This ask is the scope of the job and the market information I can show you.

Name the target once. Do not raise it on the spot, and do not apologize for it.

If they say this is our best offer

I hear you, and I appreciate you saying it directly. If this base is the ceiling, I still want to see whether a signing bonus, the equity grant, or the level can move. If none of those can, I will decide on the package as it stands rather than ask the same question again.

Thank them before you ask what else can move. Then wait.

If they say the budget is fixed

Understood. A salary band is often fixed once the level is fixed. Signing bonuses and equity grants sometimes sit outside that annual budget. Is either of those actually open? If both are closed, what does a pay review look like in six months, and what would have to be true for the level to change?

Ask one question, then stop. A list of demands sounds like you did not hear them.

If they ask for your current salary

I would rather keep this on the pay for this role. A prior salary is a different job, and in some places an employer should not ask. The number I am using here is $195,000.

I am not going to invent a current salary, and I am not required to answer with one.

You can decline. If you answer, use the real number.

Non-salary asks

If salary cannot move the whole way, I will ask about other terms I actually want. I will start with a signing bonus.

If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.

On equity, I would like the grant size, the vesting schedule, the cliff, and what happens to vested shares if I leave. If these are options, I also want the last independent valuation and how long I have to exercise after I leave. I will not treat a percentage as cash.

I would like to know how refresh grants work here: whether they happen on a schedule, what they depend on, and whether this offer is only the initial grant.

Remote work matters to me. I would like the written policy: which days, which locations are allowed, and whether pay changes with location.

I would like to confirm paid time off: the number of days, whether they are accrued, and what happens to unused days.

I can start on a date I can keep. If you need someone sooner, tell me the real date and I will say yes or no, rather than agree and then slip.

Pick the two you care about. You do not have to read all six.

Closing

I would like to get to yes. If $195,000 is possible, I can move forward. If it is not, I am open to a different mix of base, bonus, and equity that lands in the same place. What is the next step on your side?

Stop talking after the question. The next person to speak should be them.

Email version

Subject: Compensation for the software engineer role

Hello,

Thanks for walking me through the offer. I am interested in the software engineer role, and I want to talk about compensation while we can still shape the package.

I am targeting $195,000 in total compensation.

From what I can price today: $150,000 base, $15,000 bonus, $20,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.

That priced total is $185,000. I am asking for $10,000 more, about 5.4%, which is my target and not a padded number.

If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.

Thank you,

[Your name]

Most people negotiate with one offer. That is a normal position, not a weak one you have to decorate. This page sets the script to say, in plain language, that you do not have another offer and that you are not going to pretend you do. The ask rests on the target, the scope, and the market note you type.

What you can point to

Use a range you looked up for the level and the city, or the band the company posted. Put the source in the market box in your own words. Use the work they already said they want: on-call, hiring, a migration, a book of clients. Those are facts from the interviews. They are stronger than a mysterious “other opportunity.”

You can still ask for a signing bonus, a clearer grant, or a level check. None of those require a second employer. If the gap is large, ask whether the level is right before you repeat the number. A low level with a lecture about confidence will not move a band that was built for a different job.

The sample still includes a target above the priced total, so you can see a real counter. If your offer is already at your target, the script will say so instead of manufacturing a fight.

Questions

Is it harder to negotiate with only one offer?

You have less calendar pressure. You do not have less of a case if the number is off for the level. Say the target and the reason. Stop.

Updated 2026-10-08. Wording help, not legal advice.