You can’t force your boss to stump up more money, but you can attempt to negotiate a better salary. Here are some simple strategies that are easy to use and that will boost your case if used carefully.
1. Choose the best and most receptive time for your boss. Ask for a meeting midweek, when the initial issues of the week have been dealt with and the end of the week is in sight. Most people are in a slightly more amenable frame of mind at the midweek point;
2. Make sure you have all your performance statistics at hand to show how you have added value. Your boss is only interested in paying for results, so what can you show?
3. Don’t go in aggressively or in an adversarial frame of mind however much you need the extra money. Start pushing and you may as well forget it;
4. Use friendly language and gestures – the issue needs to be a “what can we do?” discussion, rather that a “what will you do?” confrontation;
5. Be prepared to chat about general business subjects before getting down to business;
6. Try to arrange your seat at an angle or around the corner of the table rather than directly face-to-face.
Negotiations can break down over the smallest misunderstanding; so if there is any doubt over a statement or quoted fact make sure you query and get it clarified immediately.
When it comes to salary negotiation, having a clear outcome, goal, or target figure, or compensation package in mind has been shown to be one of the primary determinants in how things eventually turn out.
Stay calm and ask yourself the following questions:
- What specifically do I want?
- What specifically do I think they want?
- What are some plausible options that will get us both what we want?
If you’re using this to prepare for your salary negotiations, put yourself in your boss’s shoes and answer the questions AS IF you were the BOSS. You may find that you are surprised at the insights you gain from going through this process.
Now, before you enter the negotiation, check your strategy here first, as it just may make all the difference to the outcome you want! To find more information, lots of negotiation tips for many different situations and advice take a good look at my Strategic Consulting Group website where you will find links to the top Negotiation information; you are sure to find some negotiation tips that fit your discussion.