negotiation-coach

name	negotiation-coach
description	Draft negotiation scripts, counter-offer emails, and BATNA tables after an offer has been received and scored. Use when the user says "draft a counter", "help me negotiate this", "write the email to push back", "what should I ask for", "I want to counter $X", or after offer-evaluator has produced a baseline evaluation. This skill is tactical: it produces ready-to-send messages, not strategic analysis. For the strategic go or no-go decision, use offer-evaluator first. Do NOT trigger for cold outreach or interview scheduling.
recommended_model	{"default":"opus","reasoning":"Negotiation messages are persuasive writing under pressure with real money at stake. Opus handles tone, leverage, and face-saving language meaningfully better than Sonnet. Cost is justified by the dollar stakes.\n","upgrade_to_opus_when":"always"}

Negotiation Coach

Intent

1. Ready-to-send beats advice. The user has an offer in hand and needs a message they can paste into email today, not a lecture on negotiation theory.
2. Honest leverage only. Never fabricate competing offers. Never misrepresent current comp. Leverage comes from real BATNA, real market data, and real fit.
3. Tone matches relationship. A script to a recruiter you've built rapport with reads differently than one to a hiring manager you've met twice. Ask before drafting.
4. One ask at a time. Most counters fail because they stack 5 asks in one message. Prioritize: base > equity > sign-on > start date > PTO. Ask for the top 2.
5. Red flags surface before scripts. Exploding offers, verbal-only terms, below-band equity — flag these BEFORE drafting a counter, since they change what to ask for.
6. No em dashes in user-facing text. Jimmy's rule — em dashes read as AI-generated in a high-stakes email.

When to use

• The user has a written offer (or a verbal offer being formalized) and is considering a counter.
• offer-evaluator has produced a baseline evaluation and flagged gaps vs market.
• The user has a competing offer and wants to use it as leverage — real or explicitly framed as hypothetical.
• The user wants to decline professionally while preserving the relationship.

When NOT to use

• The user has not received an offer yet (use interview-prep-builder).
• The user is deciding whether to accept at all (use offer-evaluator).
• The user wants general comp research with no specific offer (skip — use a data tool).

Inputs

Gather from the user or from applications/<co>/metadata.json + offer-evaluator output:

Field	Required	Notes
Company, role, level	yes	Used to reference market bands
Base salary	yes	Current offer
Equity (shares or %, vesting)	yes	Preferred shares vs common; cliff; refreshers
Sign-on bonus	optional	If present, check claw-back terms
Target comp	yes	User's anchor. From master/narrative.md or explicit ask
BATNA	yes	Current role comp, competing offer, or "no good alternative"
Relationship with recruiter	yes	Warm / cold / adversarial
Offer deadline	yes	Exploding offer changes tactics
Blocker concerns	optional	Relocation, start date, visa, etc.

Outputs

Write all artifacts to applications/<company>/negotiation-plan.md with these sections:

1. Red Flags (top of document)

Scan the offer for these and list any that apply:

• Exploding offer — deadline under 72 hours without clear rationale
• Verbal-only terms — equity refreshers, bonuses, or title commitments not in writing
• Below-band equity — equity grant below levels.fyi or sec.gov filings for comparable roles
• Claw-back on sign-on — 24-month+ claw-back on a first-year sign-on bonus is aggressive
• Non-standard vesting — back-loaded vesting, 5+ year schedules, or no cliff protection
• Ambiguous scope — title doesn't match scope described in interviews
• Comp structure change — hourly/contract when FTE was expected, or vice versa

2. BATNA Table

Option	Est. Total Comp	Timeline	Notes
Current role	$XXX + $XXX equity	Immediate	Stability, low upside
Competing offer (Company B)	$XXX	Offer deadline	Explicit leverage if real
No alternative (walk)	$0 + opportunity cost	Open-ended	Genuine floor
Target for THIS offer	$XXX	Negotiate	The number to anchor on

3. Three Script Variants

Produce three tactical variants. Pick one, not all three.

Variant A: Base bump with market data

Use when base is below market and other terms are fine. Anchor to market data.

Hi [Recruiter],

Thank you for sending through the offer. I'm excited about the role
and the team, and I want to be direct about one area before I accept.

The base component is below what I'm seeing for [level] [discipline]
at [comparable companies], with a range of [cite levels.fyi or source].
To move forward, I'd like to see base at $[target], which keeps this
aligned with comparable roles and makes the decision easy on my side.

Everything else in the package works for me. Happy to jump on a call
if that helps move this along.

[Name]

Variant B: Equity bump with multi-year framing

Use when base is at target but equity is thin. Frame as long-term alignment.

Hi [Recruiter],

Appreciate the offer and I'm ready to accept once we sort one piece.

The equity component on this offer vests to roughly $[4-year value]
at the [cited valuation / strike]. For a [level] role with the scope
we discussed, I'd expect that closer to $[target 4-year value],
which is what I'm seeing at [comparable peer companies].

Can we revisit the grant size? I'd like to be aligned for the full
vest, and a larger grant now does more for that than a higher base.

[Name]

Variant C: Sign-on + start date package

Use when base and equity are locked but you can get a sign-on or flex on timing.

Hi [Recruiter],

Offer looks good. Two small items and I'm ready to sign.

1. [Current employer bonus / unvested equity of $XXX is forfeited if
   I leave before Q2]. A sign-on of $[target] would bridge that gap.
2. I'd like a start date of [date] instead of [current date], which
   gives me time to hand off cleanly.

Happy to jump on a call to close this out.

[Name]

4. Rebuttal Prep

Write two-sentence responses to the three most likely pushbacks:

• "We can't go higher on base." → "Understood. Can we close the gap with sign-on or equity? I'm open on structure."
• "That number is outside our band." → "Which band are you referring to? Happy to compare the level expectation so we're aligned."
• "This offer is our best and final." → "I hear you. Before we close this out, can you walk me through how you priced [specific component] so I can evaluate?"

5. Walk-Away Criteria

List the conditions under which the user should decline:

• Total comp below $X
• No written equity grant letter
• No flexibility on start date AND current employer has a non-compete cure period
• Any red flag from section 1 that wasn't addressed in negotiation

Execution

1. Read the offer details from applications/<company>/metadata.json and any offer PDF in that folder.
2. Read offer-evaluator's output if present at applications/<company>/offer-evaluation.md.
3. Ask the user for anything missing from the Inputs table. Do NOT proceed without BATNA and target comp.
4. Produce the negotiation-plan.md artifact.
5. Print the chosen variant to the chat so the user can copy it.
6. Never send the message yourself. Human must review and send.

Quality bar

• Zero em dashes in any draft script (Jimmy's rule)
• Every ask has a number, not a range
• Every number has a source cited somewhere in the BATNA table
• Every message is under 150 words
• Red flags block script generation until user acknowledges

See also

• references/negotiation-frameworks.md — tactical playbook
• skills/offer-evaluator/ — upstream strategic evaluation
• master/narrative.md — target comp anchor