My wife Sue was working a deal the other day.
She was on the phone, going back and forth with the other agent, and I was doing what any supportive husband does — sitting around the corner, completely eavesdropping.
I listened for a few minutes and turned to her.
“He’s a Closer.”
She didn’t even look up. “I know. I’m married to one.”
We laughed. And then I said something that I want every negotiator to write down.
“Make sure you save some gas in the tank.”
What That Means
Sue had put together a strong counteroffer. Clean terms. Seller pays X% commission. Any inspection item over $5,000 the seller covers. Everything was buttoned up. It was a good deal for both sides.
And it almost certainly was going to get one more push.
Not because anything was wrong with it. Not because the other side had real leverage. But because the agent on the other end was a Closer — and Closers are wired a specific way.
We have to feel like we got one more thing.
Sure enough, he came back. “Make the commission 1% higher and you have a deal.”
Right on cue.
"It wasn’t strategy. It wasn’t leverage. It was just the way Closers are wired. We have to feel like we got the last word."
Sue gave him the 1%. Deal closed. Everyone went home happy.
That extra 1% wasn’t a loss. It was the plan.
The Closer’s Psychology
If you’ve ever negotiated with a Closer — or if you are one — you already know this feeling.
Closers are direct, decisive, and results-driven. They move fast, they hate ambiguity, and they get uncomfortable when a deal sits still too long. They’ll push at the end not because they need to — but because closing without winning something feels incomplete.
It’s not ego. It’s wiring.
A Closer who accepts your first clean offer without pushing back will wonder all day if they left something on the table. Give them something to win at the finish line and they close with confidence — and come back next time.
The mistake most negotiators make is going in with everything on the table from the start. They’ve built the best possible offer, they’re proud of it, and they want the other side to just say yes.
A Closer won’t.
Not because the offer is bad. Because they need the reps. They need the last move.
The Simple Play
Before your next negotiation, identify one thing you’re genuinely willing to give — but don’t put it on the table at the start. Hold it. Something small, something real, something that costs you little but feels like a win to the other side.
Not a fake concession. Closers can smell those immediately.
A real one. Held back specifically for the finish line.
When they push — and if you’re dealing with a Closer, they will — hand it to them. They feel like they won. You close the deal. And you walk away having given exactly what you planned to give from the beginning.
"The best negotiators don’t give their final concession under pressure. They planned it that way from the start."
I’ve been a Closer my whole career. I know exactly what that last push feels like from the other side — and I know what it feels like when the person across the table is ready for it.
Sue was ready for it.
She’s gotten very good at saving gas in the tank. 😄
Want to know if you’re a Closer — or if you’re negotiating with one? Take the free NegotiatorIQ assessment and find out your style.