Brand Pushing Back? Five Scripts to Help You Counteroffer, Double Down, or Walk Away

In an ideal world, the brand would trip over themselves to say "yes!" to the first number you throw out.

However, in almost all circumstances, they'll try to negotiate a lower amount.

Don't be insulted. This is just business, after all.

Instead, you can familiarize yourself with five common negotiation scenarios so you always know when to counteroffer, double down, or walk away.

Scenario #1: The brand won't budge on their rate

Solution: Communicate your strong "BATNA."

BATNA is a concept developed by Roger Fisher and William Ury of the Harvard Program on Negotiation. It means your "Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement."

It represents your best alternative option if the current negotiation fails.

When starting out and not making much money elsewhere, your BATNA is weak because you don't have other income streams to fall back on.

But you want to keep that private from the brand because it makes you seem desperate, with few options; so, of course, they'll lowball you.

However, building more diversified revenue streams empowers you to be more confident.

You know that if this deal doesn't work out it won't be the end of the world. And when brands sense that, it makes them want you more.

Here's a script for how to communicate that:

Hi [Name],

Thanks for sharing this context! We're motivated to find a way to make this work, but given our other commitments for this quarter, $X would be the required investment. Alternatively, if you'd be open to reducing the deliverables to 1 post and confining the exclusivity term to 30 days, that would allow us to optimize our production calendar and make this work for $X-Y! Thoughts?

Thanks, [Your name]

One of the most uncomfortable things is calling a brand's bluff and saying,

"No. The investment is going to be $X. If you can't do $X, we can take a few things out of this and do it for $X-Y. Otherwise, best of luck with the campaign!"

How powerful would that feel?

Contrast that with decreasing your rate and the brand conceding nothing. Of course, you get the sponsorship (which is good), but now you have set a precedent in their minds that you will always come down on your rate and they have to give up nothing in return.

By the way, there is a deeper reason why we included the following sentence in the script:

"...that would allow us to optimize our production calendar and make this work for $X-Y!"

This is called "Labeling your Concessions." It was coined by Deepak Malhotra, another Harvard Negotiations professor.

Malhotra says giving a reason why you can concede on a particular deal point will help the other side understand why you're doing it.

In this case, now the brand understands that you take your schedule very seriously.

And, wow! If this creator has a production calendar, they must be legitimate.

There's no precedent now. If the brand returns to you in the future, they won't assume you'll lower your rate for no reason.

You were willing to do that in this particular situation for this specific reason.

But moving forward, you'll still have pricing power.

Scenario #2: The brand cares about things you don't

Solution: "Logroll" multiple issues

Logrolling, also coined by Malhotra, means you trade with the brand across multiple issues.

Almost without exception, the brand will care about very different things than you.

Here's how to do it:

Hi [Name],

Now that I understand how important it is to get multiple different cuts of the content so you can repurpose them across your various platforms, we should likely revisit the video length and the paid media licensing term.

[Insert explanation about why having shorter videos will be better to repurpose + longer paid rights will extend the lifespan of assets and increase ROI.] Thoughts?

Thanks, [Your name]

If you plan to do a video in partnership with the brand, spending an extra thirty minutes making three to four extra cuts (15-second vertical version, 30-second square version, etc.) would be trivial. But remember, the brand wants these.

On your side, the brand asked you to make the video at least 15 minutes long, which you know would tank its performance.

You can "logroll" these issues by saying,

"Knowing your priorities, it would be better to make the video closer to seven minutes. Not only will that improve the performance with my audience, but I can still make all the different cuts for you. We can extend the usage rights from three to 12 months to get more mileage out of the ad assets. The investment will be 2X, but this is a great solution to accomplish what you want."

Scenario #3: The brand doesn't think you can deliver

Solution: Offer contingency contracts or guarantees

Instead of getting annoyed when brands are skeptical, put yourself in their shoes. Wouldn't you be cautious if you'd been burned in the past? In order to reassure them everything will go great, offer creative guarantees:

Hi [Name],

Thanks for sharing your perspective here. I've got a few ideas that address these points, which will make this a win-win for both of us:

• [insert responsiveness guarantee] • [insert flexibility guarantee] • [insert timeline guarantee]

Let me know if you'd like me to send the different investment options to outline how we're both protected and ensure this partnership's success.

Thanks, [Your name]

What's a responsiveness guarantee? Maybe the brand had a bad experience with a partner ghosting them or taking forever to get back to them. You say,

"I will commit to getting back to you within 48 hours, or if you have any revisions, I'll turn those around within 72 hours."

What's a flexibility guarantee? Maybe the brand had a partner who threw an absolute stink when the brand asked them to make a few changes. You say,

"I will give you two rounds of revisions on my work, and if you need more we can build that into the investment options. I will commit to working together until you're thrilled with the outcome, no matter how many revisions it takes."

What's a timeline guarantee? Does the brand need this partnership executed by a specific date, and they're not sure you can do it? Propose a bonus if you meet this expedited deadline. It doesn't even have to be a bonus! You can say,

"X will be the investment if I hit this deadline, and if I don't, you can pay me X-Y."

In your head, you know you're going to hit that deadline no matter what, but the brand suddenly feels like it can justify paying you more money.

By the way, this stuff is not theoretical!

Here's a screenshot from an actual deal my wife and I did:

Scenario #4: The brand says they don't have the budget

Solution: "Stretch" the sponsorship

Remember the creator who turned a $5,000 sponsorship offer into $60,000 at the beginning of this chapter?

Here's how to phrase it:

Hi [Name],

Thanks for letting me know about your budget constraints. Would it help if we stretched the partnership over 2-3 months with the ability to pay in monthly installments? I'm confident this collaboration will be a big success so I'm motivated to find ways to make it happen.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

[Your name]

Scenario #5: The brand asks to add something small

Solution: Do it for free!

You don't need to charge the brand extra every single time they come back to you with a small request. In fact, it reinforces their opinion of you when you don't.

Hi [Name],

Thanks for letting me know that the brand hoped I could create a post in my private community announcing our partnership. My primary motivation is to establish a great (and long!) relationship with you and your agency, so I'd be happy to do that at no additional cost.

Looking forward to the next steps!

Thanks, [Your name]

Doing something like this accomplishes a few things at once.

First, it makes you seem like a nice person and someone they'll want to work with again.

Second, it will psychologically make your contact want to reciprocate.

Maybe they'll go to bat for you internally and try to get you a higher rate than they may have budgeted. Or go to bat for you on a future deal.

I hope it's clear by now that all these things are in service of forging healthy, long-term relationships with brands so that any time an opportunity slides across their desk where you'd even remotely be a good fit, they'll instantly think of you.

At the same time, you must develop the fortitude to walk away from specific sponsorships.

Maybe the brand is offering low compensation. Maybe they're being rude or challenging during the negotiation. Maybe you have a feeling in your stomach that your audience will revolt if you take the deal.

You can't ignore your gut on these things. Better to walk away from a short-term payday than destroy your long-term credibility.