Negotiating Effectively for Your Deserved Raise

How do you approach your supervisor or boss for a well deserved raise based on your notable achievements and quality performance? Maybe he or she has been busy and needs a gentle, but persuasive reminder. This is easily done if one carefully follows a well laid out plan. If you enlist the steps listed below you are well on your way to a productive and successful meeting.

1. Be Prepared with a Plan: Be armed with data and numbers that clearly demonstrates results of your efforts, performance, achievements and diligence. List specific projects, clients, or documents that have contributed directly to the success of the company as a result of your achievements. For example, introduce documents that clearly illustrate how you may have significantly improved efficiency in a particular process resulting in a cost reduction of 20%. Or perhaps you may have dedicated extra time to improve a process or procedures that clearly benefited overall operations and be prepared back it up with numbers.

2. Schedule a Meeting: Do not just barge into his or her office with fierce determination, but rather set up a scheduled meeting that is conducible to both of you. Be calm, confident, and stay focused on your presentation. Under no circumstance, get emotional or angry...it has no redeeming value to lose your temper and will surely result in an ineffective presentation and possible termination.


3. Omit Personal Reasons: Keep it professional, and under no circumstances bring your personal finances into the conversation. It is irrelevant and inappropriate; demonstrate how your skills and accomplishments warrant the raise in pay, not personal financial need. If you bring financial need into the equation you just gave your superior carte blanche to reply that the company too is experiencing difficult times and unable to reward employees with raises.

4. Prepare a List of Accomplishments: This is one of the most powerful methods that effectively results as a clear argument in your favor; prepare a list of questions based on your positive performance and extraordinary accomplishments, and present them in a manner where it is impossible for your superior to respond negatively. For example, you can categorically state: have I significantly increased profits and contributed directly above and beyond normal parameters toward overall performance and success for the company? Am I always ready to tackle new projects and execute them with positive and successful results? Am I always the first to come to work and last to leave? Have I taken on additional responsibilities without any negative impact on my current workload or reduction in performance? In other words, arm yourself with as many relevant questions and make it impossible for your boss to say "no" to each. You'll want to hear a "yes" to all your questions and follow up with final question: "based on the all the topics we just discussed, don't they clearly warrant an increase in pay". Then quietly wait for your boss's response.

5. Put Yourself in the Boss' Shoes: Be prepared and try to place yourself in your boss' shoes and imagine the response. And be prepared with a positive reinforcing rebuttal if it is not in your favor.

6. Have a Number in Mind: Do your research to determine what the current marketing pay range is for your position and adjust accordingly based on your skills. Have a realistic number in mind and be prepared to offer it when prompted.

7. Stay the Course: If you follow the outlined procedures and pursue with a professional demeanor you should evoke some type of positive response from your meeting with the boss that will culminate in a fruitful and mutual agreement. Do not dominate the conversation, present your prepared facts, wait for the response, and add the closing argument.

Be Prepared for the Unexpected: If research clearly illustrates that you are underpaid, you received a "yes" to all your questions above, and the raise was still denied; asks why, what you can do to improve, and set a time frame for the follow-up review. Express your gratitude for taking the time to discuss, and leave without emotion. If the follow-up results in no change in your pay on the next round, then be prepared to pursue other avenues. We all plateau at some point or time in our career that warrants self re-evaluation resulting in an obvious change of employment or pursuing opportunities with another firm that permits progressive growth.

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