Negotiation: salary, deals and everyday asks

Learn how to prepare for a negotiation, from a job offer to a lease renewal, so you get a better deal and keep the relationship in good shape.

Most people negotiate only when they have to. A job offer arrives, the lease is up, or a contractor's quote looks high. They then either accept the first number to avoid an awkward conversation, or hold out for a figure and turn the other person into an opponent, and both usually leave money or goodwill on the table. This course teaches a method you can prepare on one page. You work out what both sides need, decide your walk-away point, open with a number you can explain, trade concessions for something in return, and learn to recognise the tactics people use on you. You then apply it to pay, rent, suppliers and negotiations across Asian cultures.

What you'll be able to do

• Separate positions from interests and find options that meet the interests of both sides
• Work out your BATNA, reservation point and target, and estimate the other side's
• Complete a one-page preparation worksheet before any important negotiation
• Make or respond to a first offer, using anchoring deliberately
• Trade concessions with if-then offers so that each one gets something back
• Name common pressure tactics and respond to them calmly
• Negotiate a job offer and ask for a raise using Singapore salary data
• Adjust your approach for face, hierarchy and indirect communication in Asian negotiations

Syllabus

Module 1: Negotiate over interests, not positions

You will see why haggling over positions ends in stalemate or a poor deal, learn to find the interests behind a demand, and keep the relationship apart from the problem.

• 1.1 What people ask for is not what they need
• 1.2 Questions that uncover the other side's interests
• 1.3 Separate the people from the problem
• 1.4 Map the interests in a real negotiation

Module 2: Know your walk-away before you talk

Work out your best alternative to a negotiated agreement, set a reservation point and a target, estimate the other side's, and check whether a deal zone exists at all.

• 2.1 Your BATNA: what happens if you walk away
• 2.2 Set a reservation point and a target
• 2.3 Estimate theirs and find the zone of possible agreement
• 2.4 Strengthen your BATNA before the conversation

Module 3: Prepare the whole negotiation on one page

Build a one-page preparation worksheet that covers interests, alternatives, numbers, issues to trade, questions and your opening. You go into the negotiation with a written plan.

• 3.1 Research the market and the other side
• 3.2 List the issues and decide what you can trade
• 3.3 Plan your opening, questions and concessions
• 3.4 Complete your preparation worksheet

Module 4: Use the first offer to your advantage

You will learn how anchoring shapes a negotiation, when to make the first offer, how to set a number that is ambitious but defensible, and how to answer an extreme anchor without countering it.

• 4.1 How the first number pulls everything toward it
• 4.2 Should you go first or let them
• 4.3 Open with an ambitious number and a reason
• 4.4 When they open with an extreme number
• 4.5 Practise opening offers in role-play

Module 5: Trade concessions instead of giving them away

Make concessions that move the deal forward without showing weakness, trade across several issues, put packages on the table, and close by writing down what was agreed.

• 5.1 Every concession gets something back
• 5.2 Make your concessions smaller as you go
• 5.3 Put several offers on the table at once
• 5.4 Close the deal and write it down
• 5.5 Run a multi-issue negotiation with a partner

Module 6: Spot the tactics and respond calmly

Learn to spot the common pressure tactics, from good cop bad cop to the exploding deadline. Then practise answering them without escalating or giving in, and decide where your own line sits.

• 6.1 The pressure tactics you will meet
• 6.2 Counter a tactic by naming it or ignoring it
• 6.3 Where hard bargaining becomes dishonest
• 6.4 Tactic drill with a partner

Module 7: Negotiate your pay: offers, raises and promotions

Find your market rate from Singapore sources, put a value on the whole package, answer the expected salary question, counter an offer, and build a case for a raise or promotion.

• 7.1 Find your market rate from real sources
• 7.2 Value the whole package, not just base pay
• 7.3 Answer the expected salary question
• 7.4 Counter an offer without putting it at risk
• 7.5 Ask for a raise or promotion with a case
• 7.6 Write your pay case and rehearse the conversation

Module 8: Get better terms on rent, suppliers and big purchases

You will use the method with landlords and agents, contractors and suppliers, and on large purchases such as a car, a renovation or a phone contract. In these deals small gains add up, and you usually still have to deal with the same people afterwards.

• 8.1 Renewing or signing a lease
• 8.2 Get quotes and negotiate with contractors and suppliers
• 8.3 Big purchases: cars, electronics and contracts
• 8.4 Negotiate one everyday deal this month

Module 9: Negotiate across cultures in Asia

Learn how face, hierarchy, relationship building and indirect communication change negotiations across Asia, including within Singapore's own mix, and how to adapt without stereotyping.

• 9.1 Face, hierarchy and who really decides
• 9.2 Build the relationship first, then the deal
• 9.3 Hearing no when nobody says no
• 9.4 Use culture as a starting guess, not a stereotype
• 9.5 Adapt your plan for a cross-cultural negotiation

Frequently asked questions

How long does the course take?

It takes about ten hours across nine modules, including the role-plays and exercises. Most people finish in four to six weeks. If you have an offer or a review coming up soon, do modules 2, 3, 4 and 7 first.

Will this teach me to be aggressive?

No. The method asks you to be firm about what you want and polite to the person across the table. You learn to prepare well, ask for what you can justify and trade concessions for something in return, which works for relationships you need to keep, such as with your employer or landlord.

Will the course tell me what salary to ask for?

No. Pay varies too much by role, industry and year for a single figure to be useful. You learn to build your own range from Ministry of Manpower wage data, recruiter salary guides and current job listings, and how to use that range in the conversation.

I am a freelancer. Does this help with clients?

Yes, for the negotiation itself, including anchoring your rate, trading scope and payment terms, and handling pushback. Managing the money side of irregular income is covered in Self-employed and freelance: money with irregular income.

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