Candidate Management

The example below is on money, but you can take the principle and change it to suit what’s needed.
Money example;
You can say I think they are going to offer you XYZ but tell them a couple of grand difference.
I.e. the candidate is after £90k and you know the client is going to offer £85k, negotiate with the client and get a pay review after six months instead of twelve months.
Call the candidate and say I think the offer will be £82/83k, I know this is less than you were looking for, but please remember all of the other aspects of the job and the company you liked. (go through a few)
The candidate will complain, let them get it off their chest, just reiterate the positives.
Now when you go back and give them an official offer of £85k + a pay review in six months, they will be happier about it.
Justifying the difference,
Client name, have a policy of offering slightly lower basic’s/package than people ask for. This is done because a lot of people in the past have over sold themselves and have not been able to do the job.
So client name want proof before upping peoples salaries.
Now nobody is worried about that with you, but if they broke their own rules, you would not respect them and if it got out into the company it would be very uncomfortable for everybody.
I’m sure you can understand that, even if you don’t like it too much.
As they will be a bit disappointed that it’s not £90k, they will be quite happy it’s £85 + a pay review in six months and not £82k especially as there is a solid business reason as well.