Negotiations
Make proposals, bargain with conditions, make concessions and close the deal.
💡 Tips from the pros
- Know your BATNA (best alternative) before you start — it tells you when to walk away.
- Use conditionals to trade, not give: "If you…, we could…".
- Soften hard messages with "I'm afraid", "unfortunately", "would" and "might".
- Ask open questions to find what the other side really needs.
- Summarise and confirm the agreement in writing.
Listen to each phrase, then press the mic and say it.
Making proposals
We'd like to propose…
How would you feel about…?
What if we…?
Our offer is…
Bargaining (conditionals)
If you could…, we would be able to…
We could agree to that, provided that…
As long as…, we're happy to…
We'd be prepared to…, on condition that…
formal
Rejecting politely
I'm afraid that's not acceptable for us.
Unfortunately, that's above our budget.
I don't think we can go that far.
That would be difficult for us.
Concessions
We could meet you halfway.
I'm willing to compromise on…
We can be flexible on…
Closing
I think we have a deal.
So, just to confirm, we have agreed…
Let's put that in writing.
It's a win-win for both of us.