I’ve known “Steve” for years. He first came to me needing a new job– he was a part-owner of a tiny design firm, some managerial in-fighting was going on, his wife was pregnant, and he yearned for stability. He was smart, technologically current, and seemed to be completely without ego (how does that happen??) and I was able to easily place him in a large design firm. A few years later, he was hired by one of his clients as their director of marketing and all seemed to be going well. I’d call him from time to time gauging his interest in other jobs I was working on, but he seemed to be content.  

At least until the economy blew up. His company was in the building industry and couldn’t have been hit harder. Suddenly he had no budget, and Steve’s work came to a screeching halt. He asked to be added to my list of current candidates. After a few rounds of interviews in different companies, a high level job came his way and I watched him manage his negotiations.

The initial offer: A great title with an opportunity for leadership. A base salary lower than his current salary. A promise of a bonus in profitable years which based on the company history could add significantly more to his base (no guarantees, and specifically noting the current financial situation showed no bonus to come that year). No other significant perks: no cell phone allowance, no parking allowance, average vacation time. And that was it.

Steve’s response to me was perfect. “There are just a couple of things I want to think about, but we’re so close I can’t imagine anything will get in the way. I’ll be back to you day after tomorrow but in the meantime, please tell them I’m thrilled and I’m thinking of a start date three weeks out.”

Three sentences. But look at what he did in those three sentences: He expressed his excitement and enthusiasm, he let them know he’s already thinking of himself as part of the team, and he let them know the offer wasn’t perfect and he’d be coming back with some additional requests. And he bought himself time to figure out what was going to be important enough to request when he went back to them.

My client was delighted to get that reaction. And if you think about it, that’s kind of strange – they don’t have a deal yet and they know they’re going to be hit up for more, but he’s got them eagerly awaiting his next response.

Early on the day promised, Steve called back. He was thinking it all over, and he realized that if they didn’t offer parking or cell phone allowances for a job at this level, it must be counter-culture for the company. He didn’t want to ask for something that others didn’t have, so could they possibly add a bit more to his salary to cover his out-of-pocket costs? And would someone be available to meet him for lunch over the next week so he could start thinking about the most pressing company issues before he started work?

Their response: Oh my goodness, yes.

When Steve and I talked after the deal was done, I asked about his strategy for negotiations. His easy acceptance of a lower salary was unusual, I thought, and I wondered why it wasn't a bigger deal to him. Steve said he thought hard about asking for more, but this job gave him high access to influence company profitability and he knew that if he could demonstrate his value, he would be rewarded appropriately over time. Nickel-and-diming over the difference in base salary when such a great opportunity was in front of him seemed foolish. But the out-of-pocket expenses rankled him, and he knew he’d have trouble shaking that off. He had to go back to the table for that or every single time he made a cell phone call on the company’s behalf, he’d be annoyed. “Maybe it’s silly,” he said, “but I bet everyone has a sticking point and that was mine. ”

So, here are the steps:

1. When the offer comes in, be thrilled.
2. Hint heavily toward an acceptance
3. Ask for a few days to look it all over, figure out exactly what’s most important to you and ask for only that.
4. And let them know that if you can just come to an agreement on that final point, you’re all in.

Then -- start work. Be all in. And you’ll do great.