Useful Language — Making and Holding an Offer

The phrases that let you say no to a number and keep the person.

Tap the beside any phrase to hear it, then say it out loud. Then listen to the full conversation below.

💼 Step 1 — Presenting the offer

Let me walk you through the whole package, not just the salary.
The base is fifty-two, and on top of that there’s the bonus and the training budget.
We also review salaries at six months for this role, not twelve.
How does that sound as a package?

📈 Step 2 — When they ask for more

That’s a fair question, and I want to give you a straight answer.
I can’t go to eight, and I don’t want to pretend I can.
Three percent is genuine, it’s not an opening position.
Anything above that would need sign-off I’m not going to get.

🔄 Step 3 — Moving on other things

What I can also offer is an extra week of holiday.
I could bring the salary review forward to six months.
The training budget is slightly higher than standard for this role.
Which of those matters most to you?

🤝 Step 4 — Closing it

Shall I put that in writing so you can see it all together?
Take a couple of days, there’s no pressure from us.
If the answer is no, I’d rather know honestly.
I’m really glad we could get there.

Listen: the offer conversation

Sara: Giulia, thanks for calling back. Let me walk you through the whole package, not just the salary.

Giulia: I appreciate that. But I should be honest, the number is a little below what I can accept.

Sara: That’s fair, and I want to give you a straight answer. I can’t go to eight, and I don’t want to pretend I can.

Giulia: I understand. Is three your opening position, or is it real?

Sara: It’s real. Anything above that would need sign-off I’m not going to get. But there are other things I can move.

Giulia: Such as?

Sara: An extra week of holiday, a training budget that’s considerably higher than standard, and a salary review at six months instead of twelve.

Giulia: The six-month review is interesting. That’s not a promise of money, though.

Sara: No, it’s not, and I won’t pretend otherwise. It’s an earlier conversation, with your results on the table.

Giulia: All right. Put it in writing and give me two days.

Notice that Sara names her limit exactly rather than saying “let me see what I can do”, and that she moves on other dimensions instead. The quantifiers (a little below, considerably higher) do the negotiating.