The counter offer email after a verbal offer (with template)

The situation. The offer came by phone or email, you bought yourself a day to think, and now you need to send the counter. In writing. Where every word is permanent and there’s nobody to read your calm tone for you.

What’s actually happening. Email is actually the easier medium for a counter: you control every word, there’s no live pressure, and the recruiter can forward your exact language to the hiring manager and comp team, which is precisely what you want, because your counter’s real audience is the people in the budget conversation, not the recruiter. A good counter email does five jobs in five short paragraphs: appreciation → “you’re my first choice” → the gap → one clear number → an easy path to yes. And then it stops. No hedging paragraph, no “but I’m flexible.”

The template (copy, fill, send):

Subject: [Role] offer - following up

Hi [Name],

Thank you again for the offer and for the whole process so far. I really appreciate the time everyone has invested.

I’m genuinely excited about this role. Out of the opportunities I’m exploring, this is the one I feel most connected to.

At the same time, the base salary is a bit below what I was hoping for, given my experience and the scope we discussed. I was expecting something closer to [YOUR NUMBER].

If there’s a way to move closer to that level, it would make it very easy for me to say yes and commit.

Best, [You]

Timing and mechanics: send it within the window you promised (“I’ll get back to you by tomorrow afternoon”) - reliability is part of the impression · morning send beats late-night · if the offer came with a document, reply on that thread so the numbers sit together · one number, never a range - a range is read as its bottom.

The mistakes that cost the most: apologizing (“I hope this isn’t too much to ask…”) · stacking multiple asks in the first email (base first; other levers come after their response) · the flexibility disclaimer that undoes the ask · writing four paragraphs about your value - the interview already proved it; the email just names the gap.