Set an ambitious, defensible anchor
Aim high enough to move the range, but keep a rationale so it isn’t dismissed.
Why it works
A more extreme anchor pulls the final outcome further in your favor because of insufficient adjustment — but an anchor with no justification reads as a non-serious bluff and gets rejected outright, resetting the negotiation. The rationale is what keeps an ambitious number inside the bargaining zone.
How to do it
- Calculate your ideal target, then open beyond it with room to concede.
- Attach an explicit justification (comparables, costs, value delivered).
- Watch their reaction: a flinch means the anchor landed; instant dismissal means it overshot credibility.
Evidence
Consistent with anchoring research showing larger anchors produce larger biasing effects, and with negotiation findings on ambitious-but-justified opening positions. (observational)
Beyond a credibility threshold an extreme anchor backfires; the effect depends on the number being defensible, not just big.
Common mistake
Anchoring high with no rationale, so it’s dismissed as a bluff and you lose the anchoring advantage entirely.
Practice this with IX Coach
7 days free, then $40/month (~$1.30/day).
More practices for Anchoring Bias in Negotiation and Judgment
- Make the first offer (when you’re informed)
When you know the value range, anchor first — the opening number drags the deal toward it.
- Counter-anchor before you respond
When they open extreme, don’t negotiate from their number — reset with your own.
- Use precise, not round, numbers
A specific figure (e.g. 9,850) anchors more credibly than a round one (10,000).
- Anchor the conversation on criteria first
Set the standard the number should follow before any figure is named.
- Name the anchor to blunt it
Saying "that’s an anchor" out loud reduces — but doesn’t erase — its grip.