HOW TO NEGOTIATE YOUR SALARY (part 2)

DOES YOUR PAYCHECK STILL MAKE SENSE? (part 2)

Last week we discussed two things you can do to prepare for salary negotiation - being a giver and solving your own problems.

If your paycheck still makes cents and you’d like it to make you dollars - maybe even thousands more dollars - keep reading for the next two steps!

3. SOLVE YOUR BOSS’ PROBLEMS

Solving your boss’ problems is like shifting into the fast lane for more mulah.

Think about it. Who has the power to give you a raise? Likely, it’s your boss. There are probably other stakeholders in this decision too, but your boss is an important one to persuade.

Without him or her you’re stuck in the mud.

What’s the most persuasive way to convince her of this?  Solve her problems. Wait, what? Hang in there. I know this may be a bit counterintuitive, but nothing convinces the boss more fully of your value than by helping her out. Do this enough and she’ll want to keep you around and engaged.

Think of your boss as your most important client at the consulting firm of YOU.

4. KNOW YOUR BOTTOM-LINE VALUE

Okay. You’re working on giving, you’re solving your own problems, and you’re solving most of your boss’ problems - especially the ones that you are uniquely qualified to solve, what’s next?

The next step is to know your bottom-line value.

In other words, how does the work that you do benefit the company's bottom-line? Specifically, what dollars and cents get created because of your grunt work? The more measurable your value, the better.

For salespeople its revenue.

For operations people it might be ways that you’ve helped cut costs or up-sold clients.

The marketing team might point to how many leads they’ve brought in a certain amount of time or how many of those leads ultimately led to sales.

Every position has some type of bottom-line value company, so figure out yours.

One side-note - if you or your coworkers are questioning your position’s value, you might want to look for another job. Your position may be on the short-list to be cut!

The bottom-line here is to figure out the dollars and cents of your contribution. This will be key to next week's post on “How To Negotiate Your Salary.”

HOW TO NEGOTIATE YOUR SALARY (part 1)

Does Your Paycheck Still Make Cents?

• Are you tired of making other people rich while you’re barely scraping by?

• Are you uneasy about asking for a raise even though you consistently add value to your employer?

• Are you looking for a different place to work, when you just need a small bump in pay?

I don’t know about you, but at different seasons in my life, I definitely could’ve answered “yes” to those questions.

In this post, we’ll explore a few ways to ask for more green without being mean.

Salary negotiation.

But, before we talk about the salary negotiation conversation, let’s talk about what you can do to prepare for it.

1. BE A GIVER, NOT A TAKER

One thing I’ve observed in my 20 year career is there are two types of employees who come to work - givers and takers. You know them when you see them.

The Givers are super-easy to work with.  They’re always willing to pitch in and give you and your project 110% of their attention. You don’t get the feeling that you ever “owe them one.” They just give and expect nothing in return!

Chances are you are drawn towards these people. So it only stands to reason that if you are a giver you’ll attract the very type of people you want to work with.

On the other end of the spectrum are the Takers.

These are the people who have to take all the credit, have to have all of the answers, or always have to be right. They suck the energy right out of the team and feel like an immense drain to your business, project, or cause.

In fact, they demand that you work on their schedule, according to their priorities, and on their timelines. Are you sensing a theme yet? Takers are completely focused on themselves and not on other people.

Be a Giver, not a Taker!

2. SOLVE YOUR OWN PROBLEMS

Let’s face it! Another step in negotiating your salary is by solving your own problems.

There are tons of problems, challenges, and obstacles on the job. People who want a raise understand that they must solve their own problems, so that other people don’t end up wasting their time helping them out.

Let’s be honest, everyone has problems. People who work towards solving their own problems definitely get ahead of those who complain, ask for tons of help, or simply express their frustration to other members of the team on a regular basis.

Solving your own problems is your next step.

In next week’s post we'll continue to discuss ways you can negotiate your salary and make the money you deserve!