You will be able to decide whether to make the first offer based on what you know.
There's a common piece of advice that whoever names a number first loses. There's an equally common piece of advice that you should always go first and anchor high. Both can't be right all the time, and neither is. Whether you should go first depends on one thing above all: how well you know the range.
Lesson 4.1, How the first number pulls everything toward it, explained why the first number matters. This lesson helps you decide whose number it should be.
If you've done the research from lesson 3.1 and you have a good idea of what the deal is worth, going first usually helps you. Your number becomes the anchor, and the discussion takes place around it instead of around theirs.
Arjun is in this position with his retainer. He knows what the developer paid him for the launch clips, what two other editors charge for similar packages, and what studios publish on their websites. He has a target of S$5,500 and a reason for opening at S$6,000. If he waits for the manager to name a figure, she might say S$4,000, and he'd spend the call dragging the conversation up from there. Going first, with a reason, means the conversation starts near his number. All figures here are examples.
Going first is also natural in many situations. A freelancer is expected to quote. A seller sets an asking price. A tenant asking for repairs to be included states what they want.
Now take a situation where Arjun doesn't know the range. A different client, an agency, wants to license some of his drone footage for a television advert. He has never licensed footage for broadcast and has no idea whether the going rate is hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Here, going first is risky in both directions. If he names a number far too low, the agency will accept immediately and he'll never know how much he left behind. If he names one far too high, he might look like he doesn't understand the market and lose the deal.
So he lets them go first. "What budget do you have in mind for the licence?" Their answer teaches him something about the range, even if it's a low opening. He can then do some quick research and come back with a reasoned counter. When you genuinely don't know, the other side's number is information, and it's information you'd otherwise have to pay for by guessing wrong.
Job offers often work this way by default, because the employer makes the offer. That's fine, as long as you've done your research and written your numbers down first, so their number lands next to yours instead of filling an empty space.
Whoever goes first, there's a stage before it. Questions asked before any number is named make that number better.
The questions from lesson 3.3, Plan your opening, questions and concessions, do this job. Arjun asks how many launches are planned, what matters in launch weeks, and who else approves. By the time he names a figure, it's built around the developer's real needs, and he can explain it in their terms: "Given three launches in six months and the need for fast turnaround in those weeks, I'm proposing..."
Asking first also helps when you've decided to let them go first. Questions about scope, timing and what matters to them often lead the other side to mention a budget or range without being asked directly.
Sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised. The recruiter calls Wei Ling and offers S$6,000, only S$200 below her target of S$6,200.
The temptation is to say yes on the spot, relieved. Resist it. Accepting instantly can leave the other side wondering whether they offered too much, and it gives up the small improvement that's often easy to get. It also skips the chance to settle the rest of the package.
Instead, show you're pleased, ask a question, and make a modest counter. "Thank you, that's encouraging. Before I respond, can I check how the bonus and the first pay review work?" Then, once she has the answers: "If we could make it S$6,300, I'd be ready to accept this week." The counter is small and comes with a reason, which in this case is her readiness to commit quickly.
She may get S$6,300, or S$6,150, or a firm no at S$6,000. Any of those is fine, because she's above her target or close to it, and she's kept the conversation pleasant.
For your own negotiation, weigh how much you really know about the range and how much you'd learn from hearing their number. The activity asks you to make the call and write down why.
For your upcoming negotiation, decide whether you will go first and write the reason in one sentence.
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