You should be picking a large enough number you'd be happy with. If you think there's a chance they'd offer $120k to start with, go for that figure. If you join on $80k and they say "Guess what?!? We'd have paid you double!!!", start looking for other jobs immediately on that higher rate and don't even put the $80k one on your resume (I actually did something similar and doubled my previous salary in 4 weeks).
Suggesting the first figure is all about anchoring [1]. Once that first figure is out there it sets the tone for the negotiation. Many employers will try to offer you $current_salary + $small_delta. This advice is all about anchoring at a higher figure, breaking away from any relationship to your previous figure. So it's important you do say the first figure.
Also, the deflection is there to make the figure you want seem normal to you. It's no big deal you're asking for a whopping salary - that's just what you expect. The last thing you want to do is take a sharp intake of breath and make it seem like you're overplaying your hand. Just casually drop in $top_end_figure and move on with the conversation.
A great book on negotiation skills is "Everything is Negotiable" [2]. That book has literally made me thousands.
Suggesting the first figure is all about anchoring [1]. Once that first figure is out there it sets the tone for the negotiation. Many employers will try to offer you $current_salary + $small_delta. This advice is all about anchoring at a higher figure, breaking away from any relationship to your previous figure. So it's important you do say the first figure.
Also, the deflection is there to make the figure you want seem normal to you. It's no big deal you're asking for a whopping salary - that's just what you expect. The last thing you want to do is take a sharp intake of breath and make it seem like you're overplaying your hand. Just casually drop in $top_end_figure and move on with the conversation.
A great book on negotiation skills is "Everything is Negotiable" [2]. That book has literally made me thousands.
[1] https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-skills-daily/w...
[2] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything-Negotiable-4th-Gavin-Ken...