Why You Should Never Accept The First Offer
In the world of bargaining, there is one very famous rule that you should always live by, as it has the potential to make/save you a lot of money:
Never accept the first offer.
Accepting the first offer, no matter what’s involved, can be detrimental in a number of ways, ranging from negatively influencing the way people treat you in the future, to negatively affecting your bottom-line.
It’s simply in your best interest to negotiate. Here we’ll share with you 7 reasons why you shouldn’t accept the first offer. Ever.
1. The first offer is usually the worst one
This is their way of feeling you out. They’re seeing how much you’re willing to take. For this reason, the first offer will be at the lowest end of their range.
It’s probably an insulting number, and it might even make you mad. Don’t be. You should always assume there’s more money in the coffers.
2. You’ll look too eager and desperate
When bargaining, you should come to the table as though you can walk away at any time. This places the power squarely into your hands. But you can’t achieve this if you’re happy to take any offer they make you.
Accepting the first offer, no matter what it is, will also signal to them that you’re someone they can take advantage of in the future.
3. They’re expecting you to negotiate
You should always negotiate, even if the first offer is a good one. They do this stuff all the time, and they’re expecting it from you. Negotiating makes you look like you know your worth, aren’t desperate, and won’t be someone they can push around.
Essentially you set the tone for the relationship going forward. They will know never to even attempt to short change you in future negotiations, making life a little less stressful for you.
4. You’ll regret it
Accepting the first offer without bargaining and uncovering how high they’re willing to go will almost certainly lead to regret. It will play on your mind constantly and could make you bitter on the job or towards the people you’re negotiating with.
If the negotiation concerns a job offer or a raise, and you find out that one of your colleagues doing the same job got a higher offer, this could sour your work relationships, and your ability to do your work efficiently might be hindered.
5. It’s not worth settling for less
Although accepting the first offer might appear easier and quicker in the short term, when you consider how much you potentially stand to lose, the speedy negotiations won’t look so good anymore.
6. There are plenty of other opportunities out there
You should never feel pressured to accept the first offer, or a low, insulting offer, because there will always be other opportunities. If one person made you an offer, you can bet that others will too.
7. It’s always wise to get comfortable negotiating
Learning to negotiate will serve you well in almost all facets of your life – from relationships, to selling your house, to getting your dream job. As such, it doesn’t hurt to get comfortable negotiating when an opportunity presents itself.
Good negotiating skills are valuable.
Final words
Too often, people shy away from negotiating, afraid to come off as greedy, or scared that they’ll lose the offer completely. If this sounds like you, you need to work on getting rid of those feelings, fast, because they’ll severely stunt your progress in life.
Set a base figure in your mind before you come to the table; this will stipulate the lowest you’re willing to go. If they come in lower, you should negotiate. If they come in higher, you should negotiate. It’s that simple. Ask for a little more – anything is better than the initial offer.