How to Negotiate for More When You Can’t Afford to Walk Away

​A free live webinar for women negotiating in a tougher market — where opportunities feel scarcer and asking for more can feel riskier.

Two live sessions are available:
You’re viewing the Weds 23rd Sept 5–6pm
Prefer lunchtime? Register for Friday 25 September, 12–1pm, here: https://luma.com/dgtsj4t2

​What do you do when there’s an outcome you really want — and asking for more feels as though it could put the whole thing at risk?

​Much of the conventional advice on negotiation rests on the same principle: strengthen your position by lining up good alternatives — and be willing to walk away.

​But that advice is much harder to act on in the current environment.

​Jobs are harder to land. Promotions and budgets are under pressure. Clients take longer to commit. Opportunities can feel both scarcer and more precious — and replacing the one in front of you may be far from straightforward.

​And for women, there can be another layer: the risk of backlash for self-advocacy is real. When an opportunity already feels precarious, that can make negotiating feel more dangerous still.

​Perhaps it’s a job you really want after a long search. A promotion that may not come around again soon. A major opportunity. A client you can’t afford to lose.

​When the outcome matters that much, asking for more can feel terrifying. What if you overplay your hand? What if they withdraw the offer? What if you lose the very thing you were trying to improve?

​Having fewer alternatives may weaken your bargaining position. But your alternatives are only one part of the picture.

​You may have less power than you would like — but more leverage than you realise.

​In this free live session, we’ll look at how to think strategically when walking away would be costly. We’ll explore what your limited alternatives really mean for your bargaining position, where you may still have leverage, and how to judge whether — and how far — to push.

​This will be a live 45-minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of Q&A.

Lucy Watson is a negotiation strategist and founder of Negotiate Like a Woman. She spent 25 years in financial services and technology — including at Barclays, Oliver Wyman and co-founding an enterprise technology company — and now helps women negotiate strategically for greater reward, influence and opportunity without compromising the relationships that matter.