How to Negotiate Salary in Email (6 Free Salary Negotiation Emails + 31 Proven Do’s and Don’ts)

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What is salary negotiation?

Salary negotiation is the process of bargaining with an employer for your desired compensation. While the phrase “salary negotiation” implies a negotiation of just your base pay this is not the case. A complete salary negotiation should include negotiation of your total rewards which includes:

• Base pay
• Benefits
• Job perks
• Stock options
• Job title
• Signing bonus
• Other income impacting variables (e.g. performance and bonus schedule)
• Other variables that increase your happiness at work and ability to be successful 

Should you negotiate salary over email?

There are pros and cons to negotiating salary over email. Here are some things to consider:

Pros of a salary negotiation over email include:

• It can be easier to structure your points over email
• More time to research
• More time to think about what you want
• You are less likely to accept a low offer because you are uncomfortable and/or intimidated by the salary negotiation process
• You are less likely to say the wrong thing
• You can avoid an awkward face-to-face conversation
• You can avoid the pressure and emotion that comes with an in-person salary negotiation
• You can keep a record of the negotiation
• You can send documentation with all your researched points (and cited sources) for easy reference by both parties

Cons of a salary negotiation over email include:

• A need to be very concise to avoid a potential for miscommunication
• It can be difficult to gauge the other person’s response to your proposals and counteroffers over email
• It can feel cold or impersonal, especially if you have not met the person before
• It can be difficult to read and understand the person’s tone 
• The chance that there is less room for compromise
• The other person may not take you as seriously 
• The other person can easily say “No” making it difficult to continue the negotiation
• The other person could take an offer or proposal and run with it, without giving you a chance to counteroffer
• The other person may perceive they can lowball because you’re hiding behind email
• The negotiation could drag on
• You can’t read body language over email
• You might not get what you want

How to Negotiate Salary in Email (31 Proven Do’s and Don’ts)

There are a few key things to remember when negotiating your salary in email. Below are 31 proven “How to negotiate salary in email” do’s and don’ts. 

When negotiating salary over email DO:

1. Ask questions to ensure you understand the job’s full duties and responsibilities 
2. Ask what the salary range for the position is
3. Ask questions about how the company makes compensation decisions (e.g. Does the company compensate employees based on their location or is there another formula that the company uses to establish base salary?)
4. Ask questions about benefits, job perks, other incentives, and a signing bonus (if negotiating a job offer)
5. Be honest throughout the entire negotiation
6. Be polite and professional and show gratitude in all of your communications, at every stage of the negotiation
7. Be prepared to negotiate job perks, stocks, commission rates, etc. in case there is no budget to offer you a specific base pay or the company has other restrictions that can limit base pay
8. Be prepared to be patient, to stay the course, and play the salary negotiation waiting game (if you rush the process you could end up negotiating against yourself) 
9. Be specific 
10. Get leverage via other (real) competing offers 
11. Know what you are negotiating for by coming up with a competitive base pay number that reflects your market value and your baseline walkaway rate 
12. Prepare a list of quantified accomplishments that communicate why you are worth the base pay you are asking for and relate your achievements to the duties and responsibilities of the position
13. Research the base pay for someone with your skills, experience, education, and track record of success (in your area if relevant to the company’s compensation formula)
14. Send clear and concise emails free of grammar and spelling errors 

When negotiating salary over email DON’T:

1. Beg or plead 
2. Forget to communicate your excitement and passion for the position 
3. Forget to say “Thank you” at all stages of your negotiation: beginning, during, and at the conclusion (no matter the result of the negotiation)
4. Forget that you are negotiating the job’s duties in relation to your abilities and experience
5. Get impatient and accept the first counteroffer 
6. Give an ultimatum 
7. Limit the negotiation to money 
8. Make demands
9. Make the negotiation personal
10. Make threats such as not accepting the job offer or leaving your job 
11. Outright say “No”
12. Overlook the importance of clearly communicating why you are worth what you’re asking for using quantified examples 
13. Propose a base pay number without knowing what the company’s salary range is
14. Propose a base pay number without researching what the market is paying
15. Send an email that is angry, hostile, or demanding
16. State you need more money because you have certain financial needs and bills to pay
17. Use vague language 

How to Negotiate Salary in Email (Steps)

Now that you know what to do and what not to do, let’s take a look at the art and science of writing a salary negotiation email.

How do you write a negotiation email?

When negotiating salary in person it’s easier to build rapport with the person you’re negotiating with. Having good rapport with the person with whom you are negotiating is important. Good rapport increases your likeability and consequently likeability increases the effectiveness of persuasive comments.

When negotiating over email you lose the ability to build rapport through small talk and funny (appropriate and professional) comments.

As a result when writing a salary negotiation email it’s important to thoughtfully build rapport through the tone and format of your writing. To do this a salary negotiation email should:

• Have an optimized subject line (if you are not responding to an offer email)
• Be personalized
• Have formatting that does not feel overwhelming and is easy to skim (i.e. your email does not cause feelings of confusion or stress)
• Express gratitude
• Express excitement
• Express passion

Now that you know the art of building rapport in a salary negotiation email let’s dive into the science of negotiating salary in email and how to write a salary negotiation email.

How to Negotiate Salary in Email (Step-by-step)

1. Say “Thank you”
2. Find out if the offer is equitable
3. Ask for time to review the offer
4. Do your research
5. Make a list of quantified achievements
6. Set goals and your must-haves
7. Confirm the offer is negotiable
8. Clearly communicate a specific ask
9. Stay the course and make counteroffers
10. Get all agreed to details in writing, review, and confirm

Say “Thank you”

When you receive a job offer the first thing you want to do is express your excitement and appreciation for the opportunity by saying “Thank you.” Saying “Thank you” is professional, courteous, and helps you build rapport with the person you are negotiating with.

Find out if the offer is equitable

After you say “Thank you” you want to confirm if the offer is equitable. To do this ask for details about how the offer was put together and where it falls on the compa ratio for the position.

To do this you can reply something like…

“I’m very excited for the opportunity.

 

I want to make sure I thoroughly understand the offer. Can you please share where it falls on the compa ratio for this position?”

The answer to this question will let you know where the offer falls in comparison to the median pay for the position. This information paired with details on the company’s compensation formula for the role will let you know if the offer is equitable compared to other people in the position at the company with similar skills and experience level.

Ask for time to review the offer

Once you receive details that help you determine if the offer is equitable, ask for time to review the offer.

Some employers may push for an answer and not give you time to review. This is an employer salary negotiation tactic to rush you into accepting the offer. Don’t fall for it. Rather be professional and let them know you’re excited about the offer but need time to review the details.

If you’ve only been made a verbal offer make sure to request the details in writing. This ensures you have a “formal” offer from the employer and provides a point of reference that will support your market research.

Do your research

Research what companies at the same stage as the company making the offer, in the same industry, and in the city the company uses to benchmark salary are compensating someone with your skills and experience to perform the job’s duties.

Make a list of quantified achievements

Create personal performance data that demonstrates your ability to be successful in the role. To create your personal performance data, review the job description and make a list of quantified achievements that reflect your ability to successfully perform the job’s duties and responsibilities.

Let’s walk through an example…

Set goals and your must-haves

Use your market research and personal performance data to set total rewards negotiation goals (i.e. base pay, stock options, bonuses, etc.). Set your:

• Must-haves, the minimum you’re willing to accept
• Nice-to-haves, areas you can be flexible in a negotiation
• Target, the most complete and competitive total rewards package

When setting your goals it’s important to be mindful of the company’s salary range for the position but understand that unless the company utilizes standardized compensation formulas to determine salary it’s possible to negotiate past the top of a salary range (with the right justification/negotiation points).

Confirm the offer is negotiable

Before you send a salary negotiation email, set the stage for a positive salary negotiation by confirming that the offer you received is negotiable.

When you confirm an offer is negotiable you: 1.) ensure you don’t offend the employer by trying to negotiate an offer that is “best and final,” and 2.) ensure you are on the same page with the employer and don’t confuse them or catch them off guard.

Clearly communicate a specific ask

When the employer confirms that the offer is negotiable, clearly communicate a specific initial ask/counteroffer by communicating your appreciation for the original offer, your excitement for the opportunity, your market research, your achievements, and what you want (i.e. a specific ask/counteroffer for your target goal).

Stay the course and make counteroffers

73% of employers expect a salary negotiation. On average just one counteroffer increases a base pay offer by 7.4%.

Continue making counteroffers using your market data and quantified achievements until you maximize the total rewards package. Make sure you don’t forget about the art of writing a salary negotiation email and that you express gratitude and excitement for the opportunity in each counteroffer.

Make sure to negotiate all job offer details: base pay, stock options, sign on bonus, job title (if relevant), job perks, benefits, stipends, commission, career advancement opportunities (such as opportunities to shadow an executive in certain settings), and details that will increase your work happiness (e.g. no meeting Fridays or a four-day work week).

It may feel uncomfortable to feel like you’re “asking for a lot” but remember a salary negotiation is a collaboration in which you work with the employer to determine compensation you will receive in exchange for the work that you will perform and its value.

Get all agreed to details in writing

Once you reach an agreement make sure every detail no matter how small is included in your Employee Offer Letter. If a negotiated detail is not included in the terms and conditions of your Employee Offer Letter it does not have to be legally upheld.

Salary Negotiation Email (6 Proven Templates)

Below are suggested salary negotiation email samples. Each of the samples relates to either opening a salary negotiation in email or negotiating salary in email.

Salary Negotiation Email Samples:

• Salary Negotiation Email (Confirm the offer is negotiable)
• Salary Negotiation Email with Another Offer
• How Do You Ask for a Higher Salary Email Sample #1
• How Do You Ask for a Higher Salary Email Sample #2
• Entry Level Salary Negotiation Email
• Salary Negotiation Email Script

How do you ask for a higher salary email? (Templates)

In the case that the hiring manager has made an offer or proposal and it doesn’t reflect compensation for your skills and experience here’s an example of a salary negotiation email you could write to propose a counteroffer:

It is important to note that this salary negotiation email template should be tailored to incorporate all compensation elements. If benefits, job perks, stock options, a different job title, etc. should be included make sure to appropriately add them in the email. Otherwise, you could get a final job offer letter that is missing details that you assumed would be included.

Having to go back to the person you are negotiating with to continue a negotiation they thought was finished does not work in your favor. To avoid this the sentences below the quantified achievement bullet points can be edited to account for other details.

Here’s another sample:

If you are negotiating an entry-level position and have some experience that relates to the job’s duties and responsibilities then make sure to modify the email to include details on how your track record of success relates to the position.

Salary Negotiation Email Sample PDF

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How to Negotiate Salary Offer via Email Sample (Flow)

To help provide a sense of what a salary negotiation via email looks like below is a sample salary negotiation email flow between an employer and potential hire.

It’s important to point out that no two salary negotiations are exactly the same. The how to negotiate salary offer via email sample flow below is entirely email based however it is possible to receive a verbal offer, request time to review the offer, be granted time to review the offer, and then to start a salary negotiation via email when you reach out to the employer to confirm if the offer is negotiable.

There’s also a number of variables that contribute to how a salary negotiation is moved to and carried out on email. The example below is just one of them. Nonetheless, it provides a good example of what you might expect.

How to Negotiate Salary in Email (FAQs) 

Conclusion

So there you have it, salary negotiation email samples, the pros and cons and do’s and don’ts of negotiating salary over email, and steps to learn how to negotiate in email.

Now that you understand how to negotiate salary in email you can confidently and politely negotiate for what you’re worth!

To make the salary negotiation process even easier, create a PayDestiny account. Your account gives you access to powerful, self-serve tools to successfully negotiate, and maximize your base pay, sign-on bonus, job-perks, benefits, stock options, and more, in person, over the phone, or via email!