When someone asks for more, say this

February 12, 2026

---

Hi Everyone,

We've all been there – a vendor asks for a longer contract, a peer needs something bumped up the queue, a client pushes for a faster timeline.

You say yes because it seems easier than pushing back.

But concessions without conditions add up. And once you've given something away for free, it's hard to ask for anything in return.

One skill changes this… Make every concession conditional.

4 words to remember: "I can if you."

When you're negotiating with a vendor, you might say "I can commit to a two-year term if you include a 60-day exit clause."

When a peer needs something from your team, you might say "I can lend you a designer for two weeks if you cover my team's QA tickets while they're gone."

When a client pushes for more, you might say "I can include the additional feature if you're willing to push the launch by three weeks."

When your board wants an aggressive timeline, you might say "I can hit that date if we adjust the scope to focus on the core use case first."

You're still being flexible, but now flexibility has a price.

Why it works

Conditional concessions do two things.

First, they force the other side to prioritize. If they really need what they're asking for, they'll consider paying for it. If they won't give anything back, you've learned something – they're just trying to take.

Second, they signal that your concessions are finite. You're not going to keep giving things away, and this actually builds respect. You come across as someone who values what you're offering.

One thing to watch

If the other side keeps asking you to give more without offering anything back, that's a signal.

At that point, you can name it by saying something like "We've made a few adjustments already. What can you offer on your end to make this work?"

If they still won't engage, you're not in a negotiation. You're being squeezed.

Go deeper

👉The Negotiation Club: How the "If You, Then We" Technique Works In Negotiations

👉 Harvard Business Review: How to Negotiate with a Liar

👉 MIT Sloan: 7 keys to effective negotiations

👉 The Tim Ferriss Show: Lessons from a Master Negotiator

Coming up tomorrow

Tomorrow, we're looking at how to stop your calendar from filling with other people's priorities. A few enforceable rules about what gets protected, what gets batched, and what gets rejected. Plus a quick audit you can run before the week starts.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Is "I can if you" part of your negotiation toolkit? If so, hit reply and let us know how it works for you.