Getting What You Need: High Impact Negotiating Strategies

INTRODUCTION
One of the most powerful and easy to forget realities of your professional life is around how individuals are compensated for their added value to an organization. Especially, when you have been on a job search for an extended period of time, it is essential to remember that you can have an impact on your compensation when you land your next position. In fact, when you intentionally and strategically negotiate for your added value to an organization, you and your company both win.

SALARY AS PAYMENT FOR THE PURCHASE OF YOUR ADDED VALUE
Although it’s important to consider the economic realities of supply and demand factors, a critical variable that ultimately determines compensation is the extent of your responsibilities and your skills and the potential return for an organization on their financial investment in you. The more people or products an employee’s decisions and actions affect, the more those decisions and actions will impact an organization’s bottom line. Salary is an indicator of that responsibility and influence, as well as the simple economic principle – employers expect employees to make more money for the organization than they will cost.

PSYCHOLOGY OF PURCHASING BEHAVIOR
Have you ever purchased something that you couldn’t afford? If you’re like most people, your answer to the last question will be yes. How do people get to the point of buying something they can’t afford? They usually progress from being curious to interested, intrigued, wanting it, wanting it a lot, wondering how they can get it, thinking about it almost all the time, scheming, scrimping, saving, and finally buying it because they just can’t stand not having it any more! Then they wonder how they ever got along without it and are fully invested in justifying their purchase. Your interviews are your way of making the sale regarding your added value to the organization. You want to make the sale before you talk about salary. Once the sale is made, then the negotiations can begin.

SALARY QUESTION AND ANSWER STRATEGIES
Avoid Discussing Salary until after You are Offered the Position
When you are able to postpone the salary discussion until after you are offered a position, you have essentially made the sale and the roles are now reversed. They are in a position where they have decided to bring you into the organization and are now invested in your saying yes to their offer. Essentially, you have made the sale and now it is up to them to make the sale to you. They are now motivated at this time to ultimately offer you their best price, because they have made the decision that you are the best available candidate.

Hiring managers are eager to fill available positions and be through with the entire recruiting and interviewing process. They are motivated to end their search for the available position so that they can finally spend their time on other work related details. You have been offered the position because the hiring manager has made the decision that you are the best candidate. The initial sale, so to speak, has been made. At this point, the hiring manager is likely to be motivated to make the pay scale flexible and creatively juggle the budget in order to close the deal.

As many organizations utilize the salary question as an initial screening tool, avoiding the salary question can require both skill and quick thinking. In fact, if an organization requests “salary history” for your formal application, your failure to provide this information will officially eliminate you from the applicant pool. If salary history is required in order to apply for a position and your salary history is higher that the salary range for the position, you will need to address this in your application cover letter and/or initial contact with the organization. The salary question, even if not required for the formal application, will often be brought into the initial screening interview - often by phone - or the first in-person interview.

Scripts for Postponing the Salary Discussion until “The Offer”
When the interviewer presses you for salary information early in the interviewing process, you can often postpone the discussion via one of the following responses:
• “What is the salary range for this position?”
• “How much is budgeted for this position?”
• “How much would someone with my qualifications and experience receive in this position?”
• “I’m sure we can come to a satisfying salary agreement if I’m the right person for the position. Is it OK with you if we initially focus on my being the right person for the position and then discuss salary?” If we agree that I am the right fit, I’m sure we can come to a satisfactory agreement.
• “I notice we’re back on salary again. May I ask you a question? Are you wondering if you can afford me? Or do you just need it for an application or something else?”
• “My salary expectations? Well, I would expect that you will pay a fair salary for this type of position. My research indicates a range of X dollars to Y dollars for this type of position, but every job is unique. If you are open to this, can we first discuss the position and my added value to your organization?

When the interviewer is not willing or able to budge on the request for salary information, you still can have an impact via one of the following approaches:
• State your total compensation package, the highest dollar amount that includes your base-salary and benefits.
• Remember that your true added value to a company includes recent degrees/experience which may not be factored into your most recent compensation package. If this is applies to you, communicate this to the interviewer.
• Sometimes, the salary range for the position that you are interviewing for will be lower than your prior salary and you are still interested in taking the position. When this happens due to a career change or some other factor, you will need to communicate to the interviewer why you would consider a salary range lower than your current range or you will not be taken seriously as a candidate for the position.
• When you salary demands are not in alignment with the salary range for the position you are targeting, know that screening yourself out via your salary history will ultimately provide you with time to focus on more viable job opportunities. It’s important to remember that sometimes not getting the job you are targeting is ultimately one of the best things that can happen to you.

SALARY REALITIES TO REMEMBER
Money as Power
How much you are worth in the job market is a question that always needs to be addressed within the context of your performance capabilities and job requirements. In order to negotiate the highest possible salary for a position, you need to be able to speak to what others currently earn in a comparable position, as well as your added value.

Your Hiring Salary Determines Your Base-Salary for Subsequent Raises
This amount adds up over time, so your main negotiating goal is to be hired at the highest possible base-salary. Most salary increases merely reflect cost of living increases rather than positive performance evaluations. The higher your base-salary, the greater your subsequent raises will be over time.

Your Compensation Package is Comprised of Base-Salary Plus Benefits and Perks
The hiring process is complete only when you and your employer agree on a compensation package. Agree on base-salary first and then discuss benefits and perks. Base-salary is the most important and often the most inflexible element in the compensation package, as it is the major determinant for future salary increases. Your primary negotiating goal is to start at the highest possible base-salary. Entry level positions, however, are the most inflexible with regard to base-salary. Salary ranges within position grades are non-negotiable, as they are utilized as a means to reduce salary inequities and employee dissatisfaction, as well as to comply with union contracts. You can however, negotiate around the possibility of changing the grade of a particular position based on added skills and increased deliverables required for the position.

Personal Beliefs Regarding Salary, Your Worth and Negotiating Your personal beliefs regarding money, your professional added value to an organization and the negotiating process will have a definite impact on your negotiating approach and outcomes. If you are one of the many individuals who were taught that it’s not OK to talk about money or “brag” about yourself, you will need to revisit and modify these core beliefs in order to increase your negotiating effectiveness. Salary and benefits constitute a formal exchange where added value is provided to both parties. Additionally, if you are unable to speak to your skills, accomplishments, added value and position related compensation factors, you will most likely be undervalued by an organization financially and professionally, or the position will ultimately be filled by someone who is able to sell him/herself.

ONCE YOU HAVE BEEN OFFERED THE POSITION
Essentials for Salary Negotiation
• Negotiate in person whenever possible. Being able to “read” non-verbal feedback is critical to the process of monitoring your negotiating responses. It is also easier to engage the other person interpersonally, thus creating a collaborative environment.
• Approach the salary issue as a negotiable one in which you can have a powerful and positive impact. Focus on base salary first and then benefits, leaving room for negotiations.
• Seek a win/win outcome which values relationship. A successful outcome will build your relationship with the organization that will have an impact on subsequent interactions and relationships.
• Continue to express your pleasure with being offered the position and your investment in coming to a salary package agreement that works for everyone. Focus on creating an agreement oriented conversation rather than an adversarial approach.
• Approach the salary issue from a place of objectivity, rather than from an emotional perspective. It’s almost impossible to be as effective as you can be in the negotiations if you take the process personally.
• Focus on objective and employer related issues regarding your ROI to the company, rather than on your personal needs. You need to be employer focused with regard to:

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  • Their needs
  • Their problems
  • Their desired solutions

• Do your homework. Research comparable salaries with comparable organizations for comparable positions. Speak about salary levels and expectations from an objective perspective, using your research to back you up, as well as your experience and added value to the organization. Practice communicating your own professional value, strengths, skills and accomplishments as related to the position and project an image which reflects your worth and salary level.
• Understand and practice using timing, silence and slowing down the process to create a strategic advantage in your negotiations. Know that when you are feeling the most pressure to “speed up” the negotiating process that this is the exact time for you to slow down. Take all the time you need to cover all the points you want to make as your strongest negotiating position occurs before you’re hired.

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  • After you’re presented with the salary figure for the position, repeat the figure out loud and then take at least ten seconds before you reply. A twenty to thirty second silent pause is even better if you can manage this. Silence is a powerful way to focus yourself on your outcome goal while creating uncertainty in the other person regarding your response. It’s important to remember that they are just as invested in closing the deal as you are.
  • When the salary figure is too low, don’t give up. Remember that you are in a negotiation and the salary figure that has been presented to you is almost always a starting point. You will not know for sure if the number is also an ending point until you are finished negotiating. Acknowledge the figure and express your appreciation for the offer. Then counter the offer with your researched response. Remember, your goal is to get your top figure - based on your experience, industry standards and supply and demand factors - in a manner that is fair for everyone. Continue to express your interest in the job and your desire to come to a decision and agree on a number that works for everyone.
  • Think outside of the box with regard to the salary/benefit/perks compensation package. If salary is fixed within a grade level, you can focus your negotiation on a grade change for the position. When there is a cap on salary, you can negotiate within the benefits’ structure. If they are unable to compromise on salary, then you can offer other possibilities (via perks and benefits) as a means for them to alter your compensation. For higher level positions, a range of perks – from autos to memberships to severance packages, etc. – can be part of the negotiating process.
  • Know when to stop, when enough is enough. If you can’t reach a mutually satisfying comprehensive salary package, for the time being you still have the lower offer. Communicate that you’re still very excited about the offer and the opportunity to contribute to the organization and that you would like to think about the offer and get back to them. Agree to an amount of time that they will honor the offer so that you can consider it and get back to them. When possible, get the official offer in writing.
  • Follow up no matter what the outcome may be. Graciously accept or reject the offer verbally and in writing in order to set a positive tone for the future. Salary structures are always being revisited and sometimes the person who takes the position at a lower salary doesn’t work out. You never know what will happen in the future and always want to ensure that you are continuing to build positive relationships.

Checklist for After the Negotiations
• Remember to get the offer in writing.
• Take the time that you have been given to consider the final offer.
• Use the final offer as leverage with another potential employer only if you are truly interested in the other position. Manipulative game playing almost always backfires.
• Detail post-employment expectations and outcome goals, also know as your performance objectives.
• Outline in written form your complete employment package.
• Outline the structure for reviewing your performance - criteria and time frame.
• Outline the relationship between performance and raises.
• Take notes during the negotiating process and get agreement regarding each negotiating point/issue.
• Get agreement to use this document as the basis for your next evaluation at an agreed upon time period.
• Get a finalized agreement before quitting your current job or withdrawing from another potential position.

SUMMARY
The negotiating process, similar to the interviewing process, will work to your advantage when you are fully prepared to take charge in creating a collaborative win/win outcome. Especially for salary and benefit negotiations, this means that you will need to be prepared via optimally researching salary levels for comparable positions and negotiating points. You will also need to be able to communicate your salary expectations in a manner that speaks to the organization’s needs, desired outcomes and your return on investment to the organization. A well executed negotiation will result in your starting at the highest possible combination of base-salary, benefits and perks, as well as the creation of a collaborative relationship with your new organization. You can have an impact on your compensation package when you are strategic, prepared and motivated to create an outcome that optimally satisfies everyone.

Janet M. Shlaes, Ph.D.
JMS Associates
• Organizational Change
• Leadership Development
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