How to negotiate when you're told "no"

Build resilience by practicing how to respond to objections.

Before You Start

Goal: Build resilience and confidence in negotiations by practicing how to respond to objections, navigate setbacks, and turn difficult conversations into opportunities for progress.

Meeting Agenda · Approx. 60 mins

  • Member Updates · 10 mins
  • Icebreaker · 10 mins
  • Key Takeaways · 5 mins
  • Activities · 20 mins
  • One Action · 10 mins
  • Wrap-Up · 5 mins

👋 Member Updates · 10 mins

Go around your Circle and share personal updates. Keep them brief and focused on significant changes or important decisions since the last time you met. It's OK not to have one every month. If you have a One Action update from last time, share that too.

🧊 Icebreaker · 10 mins

Invite everyone in the group to share. Keep answers to one or two minutes per person.

Share a time when you heard "no" — at work or anywhere — and it turned out not to be the end of the story. What happened next?

💡 Key Takeaways · 5 mins

Hearing "no" in a negotiation doesn't signal the end. It can be the beginning of a more interesting conversation.

  • "No" is information, not a verdict. Understanding what's behind the objection tells you where to focus next.
  • Prepare your responses to pushback in advance. Thinking through likely objections before the conversation means you won't be caught off guard.
  • Concessions can be strategic. Offering something the other person values — flexibility, timing, scope — can move a stuck negotiation forward without giving up too much.
  • Alternative requests keep the conversation going. If the primary ask is declined, having a clear second option (more PTO, a high-profile project, a timeline revision) can maintain momentum.
  • Know when to pause and when to persist. Sometimes the right move after a "no" is to give the other person time to reconsider, not to keep pushing in the same conversation.

💬 Activity 1 · 10 mins

Plan how you'd respond to a "no"

  1. Imagine you're negotiating for something you want and your manager raises objections or says "no." What do you think their objections would be? Write them down.

  2. Now make a plan for how to address them. Here are some examples of how to respond:

  • Think about a concession you can make to your boss so they don’t feel like they’re “losing” the negotiation.
  • Brainstorm other requests you’d want to make instead, such as more PTO, more flexibility, or a high-profile project.
  • Offer your boss a reason why your request benefits the team or the company.
  • Ask what and how long it would take to get to a “yes.”
  1. Discuss as a group:
  • Share your ideas for responding to objections or an outright "no."
  • How have you responded to challenging responses in your past negotiations? What worked and didn’t work for you in the past?

💬 Activity 2 · 10 mins

Practice the conversation

Break into pairs and use this script:

  • Partner 1 (the “employee”): Make your request.
  • Partner 2 (the “boss”): Respond with a "no" or an objection: e.g. “That’s hard for us to do with our current resources” or “I’ll have say no, since you’re relatively new here.”
  • Partner 1 (the “employee”): Offer reasons why your request benefits the company or your team, offer a concession in return for what you want, and/or make an alternate request.
  • Partner 2: Provide feedback. Start by telling your partner what they did well in the role-play. Then, make suggestions, if you have any, for what they might do differently.
  • After 5 minutes, switch roles and repeat.

🎯 One Action · 10 mins

Commit to one concrete action — big or small — you'll take before next meeting. Go around the Circle and share (1 minute or less per member). Vocalizing it helps hold each other accountable.

Think about a recent negotiation where you've already heard "no," or an upcoming negotiation where you expect to. Make a plan to address the objections and keep the conversation going, and plan to come to your next meeting ready to share what happened.

📅 Wrap-Up · 5 mins

Before you break, plan your next meeting and close on an energetic note. Go around your Circle one by one and finish the sentence:

Now I am feeling… (choose one word).

  • Set the day, time, and location
  • Choose the next topic or resource
  • Confirm who's leading the discussion
  • Decide how you'll stay in touch in between