MOVE 04 · FRAMING & CLARITY · FREE
Define Success Before You Start
Decide your target, acceptable range and minimum before a conversation, so pressure in the moment cannot move them.
If you decide what success looks like during the conversation, the other side decides it for you.
WHY IT WORKS
Live negotiation produces anchoring, social pressure and fatigue. A target, range and floor set in advance give you a stable reference so each proposal can be judged quickly against something other than your nerves.
WHEN TO USE IT
- Before any conversation involving money, terms or role scope.
- When you have been 'talked down' in a past similar conversation.
WHEN NOT TO USE IT
- You lack the information to set a sensible range; gather it first.
- The conversation is exploratory and fixing numbers early would close options.
SIGNALS IT FITS
- You cannot state your minimum acceptable outcome in one sentence.
- You expect to be surprised by their first number.
PREPARATION
- Write a target, an acceptable range and a walk-away floor.
- Note two non-price terms that would change your floor.
STEP BY STEP
- Research comparable outcomes.
- Set target, range and floor in writing.
- Decide in advance what you will say if they go below the floor.
- Review the page just before the conversation.
OPENING LINE
“I've thought carefully about what would make this work, and I'd like to share where I am.”
SCRIPT
Based on the scope and the market for this role, I'm looking for a base in the range of $118,000 to $124,000.
LIKELY RESPONSES & COUNTERS
- If they come in below your floor
- Restate the floor calmly and ask whether there is flexibility elsewhere that changes the picture.
- If they ask you to name a number first
- Give your target, not your floor, with the reason behind it.
SECOND MOVE
If the gap remains after one exchange, use Ask for the Constraint to locate what is fixed and what is not.
FOLLOW-UP
Afterward, compare the outcome with your written range and note what moved you.
COMMON MISTAKES
- Revealing your floor as your opening position.
- Changing your floor mid-conversation without a new fact to justify it.
WALK-AWAY CONDITIONS
- The final offer is below your floor and no non-price term compensates.
EXAMPLE (FICTIONAL)
A product designer wrote target, range and floor before an offer call. When the recruiter opened $9,000 below her range, she stated the range once; the second offer landed inside it.
ETHICAL BOUNDARY
Do not misrepresent competing offers or current pay to support your range.
RELATED MOVES
Content version 1 · Drafted by Power Move IQ Editorial · Not yet human-reviewed · Educational decision support, not legal, financial or employment advice.