Offer Evaluation Negotiation

---
name: offer-evaluation-negotiation
version: 1.0.0
description: |
  AUTO-TRIGGER: Apply this skill when the user has received a job offer
  and needs to evaluate it, counter it, or decide whether to accept it.
  Trigger phrases include: "I got an offer," "they came in at," "the offer
  is," "should I counter," "how do I negotiate," "the base is," "they're
  offering equity," "OTE," "total compensation," "the number is lower than
  I wanted," "how do I ask for more," or any situation where the user is
  holding a specific offer and deciding what to do with it.

  Also trigger when the user is preparing for the compensation conversation
  before an offer is made, or when they need to evaluate whether an offer
  is worth accepting given their target range.

  Do NOT trigger for general interview preparation, resume writing, or
  recruiter outreach. This skill is specifically for the offer stage: when
  a number is on the table and the user needs to decide how to respond.
allowed-tools:
  - Read
  - Write
  - WebSearch
  - Edit
---

# Offer Evaluation and Negotiation: Getting to the Right Number Without Losing the Offer

This skill evaluates a job offer and prepares the practitioner to
negotiate from a position of clarity rather than anxiety. Most people
negotiate badly not because they lack confidence but because they have
not done the analysis first. They counter without knowing what the right
counter is, without understanding which components of the offer are
movable, and without a clear walk-away position.

The goal is not to maximize every component of the offer. The goal is
to identify the gap between the offer and the right number, understand
what is actually negotiable at this company and level, and close that
gap without signaling desperation or damaging the relationship before
day one.

---

## HOW TO SET UP THIS SKILL

Provide:

- The specific offer: base salary, bonus structure (target and max),
  equity (amount, type, vesting schedule, cliff), benefits, start date
- Your target compensation range
- The company stage: bootstrapped, Series A, Series B, Series C,
  late-stage, or public
- Whether you have competing offers or other active processes
- What the recruiter has said about flexibility or timeline
- Whether the role is remote, hybrid, or in-office

If any component is missing, the skill will flag the gap and explain
why it matters before proceeding.

---

## How to Read a Director-Level B2B SaaS Offer

A Director-level offer has multiple components. Each has different
negotiability and different long-term value. Evaluating only the base
salary is the most common mistake.

---

### Component 1: Base salary

Base salary is the floor of your compensation. It compounds. Every
future raise is calculated from this number. Every future offer at
another company will anchor to this number. Getting it right matters
more than any other component.

For a Director of Demand Gen or RevOps in B2B SaaS in 2025-2026,
search for current benchmarks before evaluating any offer. Ranges vary
significantly by market, company stage, and whether the company has
raised institutional capital. Always search before advising.

The base is negotiable at most companies. The room is typically 10 to
15 percent above the initial offer at the Director level. Companies
expect negotiation. An offer is not a take-it-or-leave-it number even
when the recruiter implies it is.

---

### Component 2: Bonus structure

At Director level, bonus is typically expressed as a percentage of
base. A 15 percent target bonus on a $175K base is $26,250 at target.
Understand three things:

Target versus maximum: What is the target bonus percentage and what
is the maximum achievable? Some companies cap at 1x target. Others
pay up to 2x for exceptional performance. This difference is material.

What it is tied to: Is the bonus tied to individual performance,
team performance, company performance, or a combination? A bonus
tied entirely to company performance at a Series A startup with
uncertain revenue is worth less than a bonus tied to personal
pipeline contribution metrics you directly control.

History of payment: Ask the recruiter whether the company has hit
bonus targets in prior years. A 20 percent target bonus that has
never been paid at target is not a 20 percent bonus.

---

### Component 3: Equity

Equity evaluation depends entirely on company stage. Do not apply
the same framework to a Series A startup and a late-stage company
preparing for IPO.

**Series A and B (early stage):**
Equity is highly dilutive and highly speculative. Most Series A
startups never return equity value to employees. Treat it as a
lottery ticket, not as compensation. Do not accept a lower base
salary in exchange for more equity at this stage. The equity may
be worth nothing. The base salary is certain.

Evaluate: number of options or shares, strike price, current
preferred share price (from the last round), percentage of the
fully diluted cap table, vesting schedule (four years standard,
one-year cliff standard), and whether the company allows early
exercise.

Ask: what is the 409A valuation versus the preferred share price?
The difference tells you something about how employees are valued
relative to investors.

**Series C and beyond (growth stage):**
Equity has more signal but is still speculative. The company has
demonstrated some product-market fit. Exit is more plausible but
not guaranteed.

Evaluate: same as above, but also ask about secondary liquidity.
Some growth-stage companies allow employees to sell a portion of
vested shares in secondary transactions. This reduces the
all-or-nothing risk of waiting for an exit.

**Late-stage or pre-IPO:**
Equity has the most signal and the most clarity on value. You can
calculate a rough valuation based on the last preferred share price.
Be conservative: late-stage valuations are often inflated and IPO
prices frequently reset.

**Public company RSUs:**
RSUs at a public company are the most straightforward equity
compensation. They have current market value. Evaluate the vesting
schedule and the current stock price. A four-year RSU grant with
a one-year cliff vests 25 percent in year one, then monthly or
quarterly thereafter.

---

### Component 4: The full package

Benefits that materially affect total compensation at Director level:

Remote work structure: If the role requires relocation or regular
travel, that has a cost that comes out of your effective compensation.
A $185K role requiring weekly travel to a different city is not the
same as a $180K fully remote role.

Health insurance quality and cost: In the US, the difference between
a company that covers 100 percent of premiums versus 70 percent can
be $5,000 to $15,000 per year in out-of-pocket cost.

401K match: A 4 percent match on a $175K base is $7,000 per year.
This is real compensation.

PTO policy: Unlimited PTO is often worth less than a defined PTO
policy because it is rarely used to its theoretical maximum. This
is not a primary negotiating point but worth noting in the full
picture.

---

## Evaluating the Offer Against Your Target

Before deciding how to respond, do the math on the full compensation
package.

**Total target compensation calculation:**

Base + (base times target bonus percentage) + annualized equity value
(for RSUs or calculable equity) = total annual target compensation.

Compare this to your target range. The gap between the offer and your
target is what you are negotiating.

If the gap is less than 10 percent: a single counter on base is likely
sufficient to close it.

If the gap is 10 to 20 percent: a counter on base combined with a
counter on target bonus or signing bonus can close it.

If the gap is more than 20 percent: either the company is outside
your range and the negotiation will not close the gap, or there is
equity value you have not yet calculated that changes the picture.
Understand which situation you are in before countering.

---

## What Is Actually Negotiable at Director Level

Not every component is equally negotiable at every company.
Understanding this before the counter conversation saves you
from wasting a negotiating move on something that will not move.

**Almost always negotiable:**
Base salary (within a band), signing bonus, start date, remote
work flexibility, title in some cases.

**Sometimes negotiable:**
Target bonus percentage (more often at smaller companies), equity
grant size, equity acceleration provisions (especially single-trigger
on change of control).

**Rarely negotiable:**
Benefits package structure (too many employees on the same plan),
vesting schedule (standardized for all employees), stock strike price
(set by the 409A valuation).

---

## How to Have the Counter Conversation

The counter conversation has one job: close the gap between the offer
and the right number while keeping the offer alive. Everything else
is secondary.

**The principle: be specific and be brief.**

A vague counter ("I was hoping for something a bit higher") gives the
recruiter nothing to work with and nothing to take back to the hiring
manager. A specific counter with a clear rationale gives them something
to act on.

A strong counter has three parts:

1. Acknowledge the offer genuinely. Not effusively. One sentence.
   "Thank you for the offer — I am excited about the role and the
   team."

2. Name the specific ask. One number or one change. Not a list.
   "Based on my research into market rates for Director-level demand
   gen in B2B SaaS and the scope of the program I would be building,
   I was targeting a base in the range of $X. Is there flexibility
   to get to that number?"

3. Signal your intent to accept if the number works. "If we can
   get there on base, I am ready to move forward."

This structure keeps the conversation alive, gives the recruiter
something actionable, and signals that you are a serious candidate
who wants the role, not a candidate who is shopping for leverage.

---

## Handling Specific Situations

**The offer is below your range and the recruiter said the number
is firm:**

"Firm" almost never means firm. It means the recruiter does not have
authority to move it without approval. Your counter should acknowledge
their constraint while giving them something to take back:
"I understand there may be constraints on the base. If the base cannot
move, would there be flexibility to include a signing bonus to help
bridge the gap?"

Signing bonuses come from a different budget than base salary at many
companies and are sometimes easier to approve.

**You have a competing offer:**

A competing offer is the most direct source of leverage. Use it.
"I want to be transparent — I have another offer in hand at $X. The
role here is my preference, but I need to close the gap in
compensation to move forward. Can you match or get close to that
number?"

You do not need to name the company unless you want to. The number
is the leverage, not the name.

**You have no competing offer:**

Your leverage is market data and your walkaway position. If you do
not have a walkaway position — a number below which you will not
accept regardless of other factors — you are negotiating without
an anchor. Define it before the conversation.

Market data is your substitute for competing offers. Search for
current benchmarks for your role and market before the counter
conversation. Citing a specific range from a credible source is
more powerful than citing a general sense that the offer is low.

**The company says they cannot move on base but the offer is below
your range:**

Ask about the timing of the first performance review. If the
company has a standard six or twelve-month review, ask whether
a salary adjustment at that point could be tied to specific
performance milestones. Get this in writing before accepting.

---

## Deliver the Offer Evaluation

Output in this format:

```
OFFER EVALUATION
Company: [name if provided]
Role: [title]
Built: [today's date]

OFFER BREAKDOWN
Base: [$X]
Target bonus: [$Y, Z% of base, tied to: what]
Equity: [type, amount, vesting, estimated value if calculable]
Full package notes: [remote, benefits, other material factors]

TOTAL ANNUAL TARGET COMPENSATION
[Base + target bonus + annualized equity if applicable = $total]

GAP ANALYSIS
Your target: [$range]
Current offer: [$total]
Gap: [$X or X%]
Gap type: [within negotiating range / requires signing bonus / outside
range]

WHAT IS NEGOTIABLE HERE
[Based on company stage and what the recruiter has said, which
components are most likely to move and which are not]

RECOMMENDED COUNTER
Counter ask: [specific number or specific change, not a list]
Rationale to give: [one sentence, grounded in market data or scope]
Signal language: [how to signal intent to accept if the counter lands]
Backup ask: [if the primary counter does not move, what to ask for
instead]

WALK-AWAY POSITION
[The specific number or condition below which you should not accept.
State it directly.]

MARKET RATE CHECK
[Search for current Director-level demand gen or RevOps compensation
benchmarks for the relevant market before delivering this section.
Cite the source and range. Flag if the offer is below, within, or
above market.]

RISKS IN THIS NEGOTIATION
[The one or two things most likely to go wrong in this specific
situation based on what the user has described, with specific
guidance on how to handle each.]
```

---

## Output Rules

- Always search for current market rate benchmarks before producing
  the market rate check. Rates change. Do not rely on training data.
- If the user has not provided all four compensation components (base,
  bonus structure, equity, benefits overview), flag the missing
  components and explain why they matter before evaluating the offer.
- Never recommend a counter without a specific number. A vague counter
  is worse than no counter.
- Always define a walk-away position. If the user has not articulated
  one, ask for it before producing the counter strategy.
- Be direct about offers that are unlikely to reach the target range
  through negotiation. Telling someone to counter aggressively when
  the gap is 30 percent does not serve them.
- No em dashes. Use commas or periods.