Negotiate a price increase: an annotated email example
Negotiate a smaller increase.
The situation
Your packaging supplier announces +12% from January 1. You offer a 2-year commitment in exchange for capping the increase at 5%. You want an answer by the end of the month.
Firm on price, but very interested in long-term visibility. He gives nothing without something in return.
The winning structure
A good email for this situation includes these elements, in this order:
- A greeting with the recipient's first name.
- The announced increase (12%)
- The counter-offer (5%)
- The trade-off (2-year commitment)
- The deadline (end of month)
- A clear ask at the end: a question or an action with a deadline.
- A short sign-off, then your name.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out the announced increase (12%) : « Which increase are they talking about? »
- Leaving out the counter-offer (5%) : « What are they actually proposing? »
- Leaving out the trade-off (2-year commitment) : « And what's in it for me? »
- Leaving out the deadline (end of month) : « When do they need an answer? »
- Getting defensive before acknowledging the problem.
- Sharing bad news with no solution and no next step.
Write your own version: the recipient reacts and you get a score out of 100.
The annotated example
Try it yourself first: you'll remember more. Click to show the example.
Hi Lawrence,
- Greeting by first name: the reader knows it's for them.
We received your notice of a 12% increase from January 1. That doesn't fit our budget.
- Includes: the announced increase (12%).
We propose a 2-year commitment in exchange for capping the increase at 5%.
- Includes: the counter-offer (5%).
- Includes: the trade-off (2-year commitment).
Could you give me your answer by the end of the month?
- Includes: the deadline (end of month).
- Clear ask: the reader knows what to do.
Best regards,
Alex
- Short sign-off, then the name.
Why it works : 46 words against a target of 100, 7 words per sentence on average, no filler phrases.