When Allison Williams, co-owner of Aerial Angels was negotiating a fee for her performance troupe, she used a new tactic to secure a lucrative deal. Williams was planning on asking for her usual fee – an outright number. But after hearing her client's expectations, their budget was "up to $10,000," William presented them with a fee quote of $6,000 to $9,000. After more negotiation, the client eventually agreed on a fee of just under $10,000. More than double of what Williams initially thought she would secure.
"If you quote too low, people can think you're not worth it. But if you go too high, that scares them off," she says. With a range, the counterparty perceives you as a professional who is also willing to accommodate, she says. "Quoting a range makes clients feel like they're in charge, as they feel they can decide what you're worth," Williams adds.
It sounds counter-intuitive – you would think the other side would automatically settle on the lower figure, right? Actually, new research by Columbia Business School finds that you're likely to get a better deal when quoting a range, rather than stating one high number. So if you're looking for a salary of $80,000, you're likely to be more successful if you ask for between $80,000 and $90,000 than if you ask for $80,000 – or $90,000 – outright.
Columbia professors Daniel Ames and Malia Mason researched the effectiveness of three types of range negotiation tactics. At first, even they were skeptical. "We used to tell students not to use range offers, because we thought it would be disregarded," said Mason. "But that turned out not to be true at all."
Three Range Negotiating Tactics to Note
The tactics are ranked below by effectiveness, with the $80,000 salary desire in mind:
- Bolstering ranges begin at the point offer and stretch in a more ambitious direction. For example, asking for $80,000 to $90,000.
- Bracketing ranges straddle the point offer, reaching both above and below it. For example, asking for $78,000 to $83,000.
- Back-down ranges start at the point offer and ease into a more accommodating number. For example, asking for $70,000 to $80,000.
Of the three, the bolstering range yielded the most successful results. Much better than what conventional wisdom tells us – to start with a high number. In fact, "more ambitious point offers showed a significant downside: those using them reached an impasse with their counterparts nearly twice as often," according to a research feature for Columbia Ideas at Work authored by the professors. So if you're looking to secure a $80,000 salary, you would start negotiations with a narrow range moving up from the desired number.
Mason says another positive outcome of a bolstering range is it doesn't damage relationships with the counterparty, unlike, say, coming to the table with a too-aggressive point offer. This could emerge as an effective strategy for women, who "have to deal with expectations that they have to be communal and not too assertive," she says. Although her experiments weren't gender-specific, Mason says she observed that "women negotiate as well as men, but they have concerns than extreme offers will make them seem too aggressive."
How To Make It Work For You
Mason says your range should start at a moderate rather than extreme point. For example, asking for a range between $100,000 and $120,000 is unlikely to work for a job that normally pays around $80,000. Also, a modest width is helpful – asking for $60,000 to $90,000 may cost you some credibility.
So, are you better off choosing a bracketing or bolstering range? It depends on your goals. If you're looking to cultivate a good impression, consider a narrow bracketing range. If getting the best possible deal is what you're after, you could raise by 5-15 percent in the bolstering range. "Especially for people who tend to be more accommodating, these approaches can be a way asking for and claiming more value while still conveying a sense of reasonableness," the researchers conclude in their writing. Uncomfortable negotiators would benefit most from the range negotiating tactic, according to Mason.
"It's difficult to come up with negotiation strategies that work but don't alienate your counterparty," she says. "The range strategy makes negotiators seem more flexible and communal." Sometimes a hard-line approach isn't the best way to get what you're after.
Have you used the range tactic? Share your stories below.
