An aggressive first offer is not an insult and usually not a final position. It is an anchor, and the correct response is neither outrage nor a split down the middle — it is a counter that re-anchors and explains itself.
Handling a low anchor
- Do not react to the number emotionally. Repeat it back as a question and wait.
- Ask how they arrived at it. Often it reveals a scope misunderstanding rather than a valuation.
- Counter to your own anchor, not to the midpoint of theirs and yours.
- Attach a reason. A number with a rationale moves people; a number alone reads as a haggle.
Beware the reflex to "meet in the middle." If they anchored at $5,000 and you wanted $15,000, the midpoint rewards their aggression. Re-anchor with justification, and let the middle be found from a fairer pair of numbers.
A counter that re-anchors
Them: We were thinking $5,000 for the whole thing.
You: $5,000 — help me understand what that covers on your side?
For the migration plus the three integrations, this sits at
$16,000. If budget is fixed at $5,000, we could do the
migration alone and schedule the integrations next quarter.
Try it
Take the lowest offer you have received recently and write the counter you wish you had sent: number, one-line rationale, and one alternative scope. Keep it as a template.