🔁 Buyer Action Playbook

Handling Counter Offers

Answer 4 questions to get a 5-category counter-offer playbook: what a counter is, common variants, round-by-round responses, bottom-line management, and the mental game. A counter is not a rejection — it's round two.

A counter offer is negotiation, not rejection — but it has hard legal mechanics: your original offer dies the moment a counter is issued, and the default response window is short. Understand the rules, control the pace, and hold your line, and a counter becomes your path to closing — not your source of anxiety.

  • Key rule: original offer dies on counter; ~3-day default window
  • Three variants: single, multiple, terms-only
  • Four responses each round: accept, hold, hold-strategically, counter back
  • Manage your line and your mind; remorse is normal