Hi Reader,

A screenshot went viral recently. Phoebe Gates, daughter of Bill Gates, was negotiating a paid collaboration with a creator who’d asked for $4000. Phoebe counter-offered at $400.

That’s 10% of the ask. The creator was offended enough to leak the conversation. Unsurprisingly, the deal didn’t happen.

We actually think Phoebe made some smart moves here. But she also made a few avoidable mistakes that cost her the deal and, more importantly, the relationship.

What Phoebe did well

1. She was warm and cordial. She opened with genuine excitement: “would love to do something together.” That’s necessary in any negotiation, though obviously not sufficient on its own.
2. She depersonalized her side. Saying “this is just super out of the budget for us” keeps it away from being about the creator’s worth and makes it about her constraints. Smart.
3. She time-bounded it. “Super out of the budget for us right now” left the door open for future deals and meant any concession from the creator would only be short-term. Also smart.

WHERE SHE FELL SHORT

Mistake #1: She counter offered. The first few moves in a negotiation are about gathering information, not making asks or pushing back.

Mistake #2: She didn’t put a buffer in between her and the creator. Phoebe did the negotiation herself. Given her public profile, she probably should not have been the face of it. It’s generally good to have at least one other person to answer to. It’s hard to believe she doesn’t call the shots when it comes to money, and that perception matters.

This matters even more because of her family name, which she can't decouple from whether she likes it or not. If someone from her staff had handled this instead, a creator might reasonably assume Phoebe was just removed from the process. That's a cushion.

When Phoebe negotiates directly, the natural read becomes “why is a billionaire trying to squeeze me out of a few thousand dollars?” The dollar amount stops mattering, and her name becomes the story. That's a real reputation and brand risk that a buffer could have absorbed.

(Someone online pointed out that Phoebe may have someone who manages her social media on her behalf, but that doesn't matter because it's still her account in her own name. Again, perception can matter just as much as, if not more, than reality).

Mistake #3: She didn’t take her time. She could’ve still ended up at $400; it’s not completely out of the question even though it’s only 10% of the price the creator quoted.

In negotiations the sky is really the limit if handled creatively. And we don’t think anchoring is as important in negotiations as many people think. But she’d have to spend a lot more time addressing the “what’s in it for me” question that would naturally come up on the creator’s end. Phoebe may have thought it was obvious (e.g. grow together as the company grows, open doors given her connections, send referrals, etc.), but she seemed to rush through and ultimately hurt the relationship.

Negotiations aren't just about the number, but also how the other person walks away feeling.
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Warmly,

Gerta & Alex​
​Founders, YourNegotiations.com

P.S. Are you job searching or have upcoming negotiations?

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Send them our way and we’ll thank you with $250 for each person who becomes a client. No cap.

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