Good morning and welcome to The Closer, the newsletter all about deals. Today's edition is short and sharp — one tactic, backed by research, to help you negotiate smarter. No headlines, no noise — just a Nugget you can deploy by lunchtime.
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THE HIGH
ANCHOR
Closer Tactic #105 • Cognitive Bias
The first number sets the range.
Make it yours.
The Nugget
Opening with an aggressive number anchors the negotiation in your favor—even if you compromise.
When Elon Musk made his initial offer to buy Twitter in April 2022, he didn't start at $44 billion. He started at $54.20 per share—a premium that seemed outrageous at the time. Twitter's board initially rejected it as too low, but the anchor was set. When negotiations resumed, the final price of $54.20 per share ($44B total) was exactly where Musk started. The board had been anchored to that number and couldn't push significantly higher, even though Musk later tried to back out.
How to Deploy
• Open with a number 20-30% above your target
• Support it with credible justification (comps, market data, precedent)
• Be prepared to defend it without flinching—confidence sells the anchor
⚠️ Avoid: Anchoring so high that you lose credibility or kill the negotiation entirely.
Takeaway
Who goes first, wins the frame.
Reply with your boldest anchor—
we might feature you (and send swag).
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