{"id":934,"date":"2021-12-03T16:55:50","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T21:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.comblog\/5-ways-to-maximize-your-salary-negotiation\/"},"modified":"2022-02-23T19:38:01","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T19:38:01","slug":"5-ways-to-maximize-your-salary-negotiation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-maximize-your-salary-negotiation\/","title":{"rendered":"5 WAYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR SALARY NEGOTIATION"},"content":{"rendered":"
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You\u2019ve either received a job offer or you\u2019re expecting one. How you approach and conduct the salary negotiation are vitally important. Not only will they determine what you\u2019re paid, but they\u2019re also a demonstration of your sales skills to the potential employer.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Rather not negotiate your salary? Consider the data: it demonstrates that failing to negotiate your salary means you will have to work <\/span>eight years longer<\/span><\/a> to make the same amount as your counterparts who do negotiate. It also costs on average a <\/span>half a million dollars in earnings<\/span><\/a> by the age of 60. So while you may prefer to avoid a salary negotiation, these stark statistics should make you think twice.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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1. Be Prepared<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Your salary negotiation actually starts in the first qualifying interview. The recruiter, hiring manager or HR person making the contact is likely to ask what your current salary is or what your expectation is. Many experts recommend simply deflecting the question with a statement like, \u201cI only share that information with my accountant.\u201d You can then shift the conversation to your future expectations. To do that, you need to know your market value. What are successful salespeople in your industry paid? You can find that out by doing some research on sites like Payscale<\/a>, Salary<\/a> and Glassdoor.<\/a> The best time to do this is now, before that first call from a recruiter. You can phrase your response in a non-confrontational way such as, \u201cCorrect me if I\u2019m wrong, but my understanding is that people with my skills and experience are paid in the range of $X to $X.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Extra Research<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Once you\u2019re past the qualifying call, you need to know more about the potential employer. Basic facts can be gotten from the internet: Company size, structure and ownership; gross revenues; number of employees; main divisions and products. Through sites like Glassdoor, which includes \u201creviews\u201d of the company from current and former employees, you may find out about the culture and work environment.\u00a0 Take these with a grain of salt as many are written by unhappy people who quite or were fired (though perhaps for good reasons). Do you know anyone \u2014 maybe on LinkedIn \u2014 who worked for that company? Don\u2019t be shy about reaching out to a connection who worked for the company or one of their main competitors in a private message to ask direct questions. Most people are flattered to be treated as an expert and will give advice. You may need to ask your interviewer(s) directly to find out things such as how many salespeople in the company are making quotas, what the average compensation is in their sales force, what their year-over-year sales growth (or decline) has been for the past five years, what the turnover rate is among salespeople. For public companies, much of the financial information will be in their annual report. Read it. This will give you an idea percentage of revenue is spent on sales and a bit about what kind of place it is to work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Choose a Negotiation Strategy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A study on salary negotiation styles reported in the Harvard Business Review<\/a> found that there are five basic negotiating strategies: collaborating (engaging in problem solving to reach the best possible outcome for both sides); competing (trying to maximize one\u2019s own outcomes with little concern for others); compromising (trying to reach middle ground); accommodating (putting the other party\u2019s concerns first); and avoiding (dodging negotiation altogether). The study found that choice of negotiation strategy turned out to be the most important factor in determining effective salary negotiation. Those who chose to negotiate salary, rather than accepting the offer on the table, increased their starting pay by an average of $5,000 and most of the \u201cwinners\u201d\u00a0 primarily used either competing or collaborating strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n

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4. Set Your Walkaway Number<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Using the research you\u2019ve gathered and your desire to accept a job with the potential employer \u2014 which may include considerations such as location, lifestyle and future opportunity \u2014 decide the minimum compensation you\u2019ll accept. If the company meets or exceeds that number, great! If they don\u2019t, you can turn them down knowing that you made the best decision for you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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5. Consider and Counter<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When you receive an offer number, ask for time to consider it. Don\u2019t dawdle. A day or two is sufficient if you\u2019ve done your research, and it lets them know that you move quickly and follow up thoroughly \u2014 two traits they should be looking for in a salesperson. Your counter will be 10-20% above their offer: 10% if you don\u2019t believe they have a burning need to hire you, 20% if you think they do. Maybe you have a unique experience that exactly fits the role, or you have industry connections they want to tap. Don\u2019t counter by phone. Write an email containing your counter along with a brief but compelling business case justifying the increase. At the same time you\u2019re writing that email, create a negotiation script you\u2019ll use when they call to discuss the offer. Write down their offer, your counter, your walkaway number and your top-three desired non-salary benefits. This will keep you focused during the final stage and \u2014 the research says \u2014 could get you thousands of dollars immediately. If they\u2019re unwilling to come off their number, consider asking for a signing bonus and relocation allowance to help make up the difference.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more of our captivating blogs<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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