Go for Your Raise

www.GoForYourRaise.com

Gordon Hayes

Go

For Your

Raise! How to ask for a raise and

how to negotiate your salary


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©2008-2009, All Rights Reserved. By purchasing this book, you agree to the following: You understand that the information contained on this page and in this book is an opinion, and it should be used for personal entertainment purposes only. You are responsible for your own behavior, and none of this book is to be considered legal or personal advice.


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Contents

I want to congratulate you, on your decision to ask for a raise! ......................... 7

Chapter 1: What will you get? ............................................................................ 9

Self-confidence .............................................................................................. 9

Self esteem .................................................................................................... 9

Appreciation from others ............................................................................... 9

Knowledge ..................................................................................................... 9

Clarity........................................................................................................... 10

Chapter 2: Why is it that most people don’t get a raise? ................................. 11

1. They do not ask for it ........................................................................... 11

2. They ask for it at the wrong moment................................................... 11

3. They are not prepared ......................................................................... 12

4. They fail at the negotiation .................................................................. 12

5. There are people in this world, who don’t deserve a raise .................. 12

Chapter 3: The logic behind the approved pay raise ........................................ 13

1. Examine your current situation ........................................................... 14

2. Define your goals ................................................................................. 14

3. Preparation .......................................................................................... 15

4. Assemble you arguments..................................................................... 16

5. Your timing .......................................................................................... 16

6. The negotiation ................................................................................... 17

7. Evaluate you results ............................................................................. 18

Chapter 4: For what do you get paid? .............................................................. 19

Chapter 5: Why do you get a raise? ................................................................. 21

1. Inflation ............................................................................................... 23


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2. Your boss likes you .............................................................................. 24

3. You have to work more than agreed.................................................... 24

4. You were at a job interview ................................................................. 25

5. The labor market ................................................................................. 26

In which of the following cases don’t you mind giving a tip? ....................... 26

Chapter 6: When should you ask for a raise? ................................................... 28

1. When your company is getting good results – at the yearly evaluation

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2. When you get results ........................................................................... 29

3. If you take on some spectacular extra work ........................................ 29

4. When you get promoted! .................................................................... 29

5. If there is a fixed salary for a specific type of job ................................. 30

6. Which day of the week? ...................................................................... 30

7. If you behaved humanly in certain approaches ................................... 31

8. If your company usually gives out pay raises during the spring ........... 31

9. If they do it twice a year, then it is not by chance - you should step out

of the line before it’s too late....................................................................... 32

10. You have finished a training or a seminar which is relevant for your

performance and your job ........................................................................... 32

11. You find out that someone doing the same job as you earns more than

you 33

Chapter 7: When NOT to ask? .......................................................................... 34

1. Not “On the fly” ................................................................................... 34

2. Before or after an important negotiation ............................................ 34

3. Before or after you take a holiday ....................................................... 34

4. After getting a pay raise....................................................................... 35

5. After committing a serious blooper ..................................................... 35

6. Your boss has a fixed schedule ............................................................ 35

7. If your behavior and performance are not OK ..................................... 36


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8. If you don’t feel so ............................................................................... 36

Chapter 8: How much should you ask? ............................................................ 37

1. General statistics ................................................................................. 37

2. Have a minimum and a maximum ....................................................... 37

3. If your boss suggests an amount, suggest a little bit more .................. 38

4. Be ready to make a compromise ......................................................... 38

Chapter 9: The preparations ............................................................................ 40

1. From whom should I ask? .................................................................... 40

2. During the month which comes before you ask… ................................ 41

3. How to preheat… ................................................................................. 42

4. How to preheat. Part II ........................................................................ 43

5. Actions – numbers – plans – stance – results ....................................... 43

6. If there is fixed salary for your type of job ........................................... 44

7. The appointment ................................................................................. 45

8. The big day .......................................................................................... 46

Chapter 10: If you missed out something… ...................................................... 48

Chapter 11: Negotiation strategies .................................................................. 49

1. Be determined but do not dictate ....................................................... 49

2. If the percentage is too high, talk about the amount ........................... 50

3. Do not talk about your salary, but about your raise............................. 50

4. Should I behave nervously or look straight in his eyes? ....................... 50

5. Do not beg! .......................................................................................... 50

6. Forget the social arguments ................................................................ 51

7. “I’ll have to think about it” .................................................................. 51

8. The power of the “Yes” word .............................................................. 52

9. Dress for success ................................................................................. 53

10. Your point of view: you have to sell yourself again .............................. 54

11. But I have no person to replace you .................................................... 54


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12. What are your boss’ choices? .............................................................. 55

Chapter 12: Plan B ........................................................................................... 56

Chapter 13: In case of rejection ....................................................................... 58

Chapter 14: After a positive answer ................................................................. 60

Chapter 15: If your boss is not the owner ........................................................ 61

1. Your boss has to show results too – but in a different way .................. 61

2. If your boss has to ask for permission .................................................. 62

3. Can you even skip the “little chief”? .................................................... 62

4. If the little chief has to discuss it with the big boss .............................. 62

5. If your goal is to get promoted, you will compete for the job of your

little chief ..................................................................................................... 63

6. Write it down....................................................................................... 63

7. If the situation “requires”, quit your job .............................................. 64

Chapter 16: Recapitulation .............................................................................. 65

Chapter 17: Checklist ....................................................................................... 66

Dialogs ............................................................................................................. 68

Situation 1 .................................................................................................... 68

Situation 2 .................................................................................................... 68

Situation 3: ................................................................................................... 69

Situation 4: ................................................................................................... 69

Situation 5: ................................................................................................... 70

Situation 6: ................................................................................................... 70

Situation 7: ................................................................................................... 71


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I want to congratulate you, on your decision to ask for a

raise!

Welcome to the world of the raise you surely deserve. I fully appreciate

that you have put your trust in me. As I can tell from my own experiences,

your chance of failure will be zero (if you are honest and do exactly as I say).

On the following pages, I will show you a system, which will help you

to get the raise you have always wanted.

I have had many jobs so far, and I have always managed to get a raise at

each of my former workplaces.

When I first made the decision that this should be taught as “science” to

everyone, I conducted different surveys and studies among:

1. Businessmen:

I asked them what influenced them to raise or not to raise the salary of

their employees. I heard and wrote down many interesting stories. One thing

really surprised me (and I heard this from several business owners): most of

the good employees do not have the courage to ask for a raise although they

would get it.

2. Employees:

I asked them about the circumstances under which they got or did not

get a raise. I heard many stories from those people too. All the answer had

something interesting in common: they did not have the courage to ask for a

raise (sounds familiar?). Therefore, I had to find the reason why people are

afraid to ask for a salary increase. I will tell you more about it later.

All the techniques, described in my book, have been field-tested and are

guaranteed to work.

It is absolutely clear for me that each employer is different, each

workplace is different and each employee is different. There are no two

identical situations, but the basic principles apply to all of them.


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If you build houses, you will never be able to build the same house

twice, but the art of house building can be learnt anyway. You put the different

pieces together based on the same principles and you use the same techniques.

The art of asking for a raise is like building a house and assembling the

correct components. It is about work, expectations, money, goals,

performance, mood, communication and of course about a little bit of

marketing. Do you wonder why? Because you have to sell the idea that, you

deserve more money.

Car salesmen try to sell you the idea that a specific car will suit your

needs best; the cell phone operators try to sell you the idea that their service is

the best for you. In fact, every salesperson or service provider tries to sell you

an idea.

You need to sell the idea that the work you do is worth much more. I

will help you do it. You will succeed just like my friends and other people I

know did.

This book contains plenty of examples and real life situations, so you

can easily adapt the things you will learn to yourself, your workplace and your

boss.

I congratulate you once more on your decision! Take control of your

salary! I mean your increased salary… and take control of your life!


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Chapter 1: What will you get?

Your first impression might be that you will get the knowledge that will

help you earn more money. But in fact you will get more, much more.

Self-confidence

For most people asking for a raise makes them feel uncomfortable. They

say it feels like begging. After reading this book, you will forget all the

uncertainty and fear that you have associated with asking for a raise. You will

feel confident and comfortable as you walk up to your boss and say: “Hey

boss! I think we should have a chat about my salary!” (Of course, you will not

be asking like that. I will talk about this topic later).

You will not feel bad about asking for the raise… and if you are willing

to follow my advice, you can forget, for good, the feeling of being

unsuccessful.

Self esteem

You will be proud of the results you get at work. At this time, these

results might not be clear for your boss and not even for you. You will gain

self-esteem by learning to appreciate your every day’s work and realizations.

Appreciation from others

By using my techniques, you will get all the appreciation that you

deserve from your colleagues as well as from your boss. We live in a crazy

world. Most people set high value on numbers and efficiency, but their

appreciation is probably the thing you deserve most.

Am I wrong here? Don’t worry if you don’t feel like that at this

moment, you will get there as I guide you, step by step.

Knowledge

I am talking about a kind of knowledge that no one can ever take away

from you. You will be able to use this knowledge at all of your future

workplaces through the rest of your life.


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Some topics will be discussed in such depths, that you will be unable to

forget the lesson behind them. They will be committed to your memory for

many years to come.

Clarity

You will be able to clearly see the complicated systems, which have a

huge influence on your salary and on your boss.

And of course you will get the raise that you deserve. After you have

read this book and your increased paycheck is in your pocket, please write me

a letter about what else you need!

Self confidence, self-esteem, appreciation from others and knowledge –

these are values that will last as long as you live.

You can use this material in two ways:

1. You simply read it, do the exercises at the end of this book and

after a week you will surely be knocking on your boss’ door.

2. After reading this book, in case you still feel that you have some

areas that need to be strengthened, there is no problem! This material contains,

examples and exercises that will help you handle those problematic areas.

I am asking you only one thing: don’t hold yourself back! And

please don’t forget to write me about your successes and experiences.


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Chapter 2: Why is it that most people don’t get a raise?

There are many people in this world, who are excellent at their jobs, but

they are constantly failing to get a pay raise. The most important reasons for

this phenomenon are the following:

1. They do not ask for it

This may seem a little bit odd to you, but please don’t skip this part!

It’s almost unbelievable that so many skilled employees with great

performance do not ask for a raise. What is your reason for not asking for it?

Is it because you are too shy to do it?

Can it be that you don’t know whether you deserve it?

Are you afraid of rejection?

You don’t dare to ask for the raise because you are not sure about the

amount you should get?

… or maybe you don’t know how you should ask.

Those above are the most common reasons why people do not ask for a

raise. I will help you to get these issues handled. Is this OK with you?

Together we can get to the moment when you can confidently reach out your

hand and ask for more money.

2. They ask for it at the wrong moment

There are times and moments when talking about money should be

considered a taboo. Asking at the wrong moment will not only result in

rejection but it may also cause undesired consequences.

It has probably happened to you before, that you tried to achieve

something but failed, and realized, later on, that the reason for the failure was

only your bad timing.

A business can be started at the wrong time. A child can be educated at

the wrong time. You can even go to the beach at the wrong time. The same


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principle can be applied to the procedure of asking for a raise. If you are trying

it at the wrong time, you will surely fail.

We should avoid these unpleasant situations and go for the certain

thing. Do you agree?

3. They are not prepared

If you want to go to the beach, you have to prepare yourself. You get

your swimsuit, your suntan oil, take some money with you, check out the

weather forecast and so on. If you are invited for a job interview, you prepare

yourself. You print out your resume, dress up in you best clothes, read the

webpage of your possible future employer etc.

In order to achieve an important goal, people tend to prepare themselves

as well as they can.

However, it rarely happens that an employee prepares him-/herself

properly before he/she is going to ask for a raise. I will help you to properly

prepare yourself and plan your moves. Trust me: this phase takes the most

amount of time and this is the most important of them all.

4. They fail at the negotiation

You can make fatal mistakes during the negotiation. You can be the

most skilled employee in your organization, but still lack the right skills for

negotiating and therefore you may commit horrible mistakes, which can blow

away all your preparations, plans and efforts.

Read this material very carefully (read it more than once if you have to)

and pay attention to those details that can bring you closer to success.

5. There are people in this world, who don’t deserve a raise

I have already mentioned it before: this material won’t work for those

who are lazy. They have small chances to get a raise. I constantly try to

convince those people not to read my book; however, they still can find useful

tips and information to live a quality life.

I repeat: lazy people will never get a raise!


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Chapter 3: The logic behind the approved pay raise

In the past, when I was looking for methods and techniques to help me

get a higher salary, I read many books and articles. The problem was that I

found ideas, tips and tricks but I did not find a system. Some of the techniques

I came across did work but some did not; moreover, several ideas were in

direct contradiction with each other!

It took me some time to realize that getting a higher salary is not just

about negotiation, and this realization was crucial for me.

I used to rehearse the things I was going to say at a negotiation and tried

to guess the answers my boss would give me to my propositions. It wasn’t

very useful, though.

I like to compare the process of asking for a raise to that of buying a car.

In neither of the two cases should a decision be made during the negotiation.

Not even a professional salesman can sell you a car, if you don’t want to buy

it. Similarly, you cannot get a raise if your boss doesn’t want it to.

Before buying an automobile, you take into consideration the future

costs of the car, the comfort that it will give you and many other properties.

And so will your boss. The employers have several things to consider before

they approve of a pay raise.

Negotiation is also important; it is just like locking the door. In order to

lock a door you need a door, a lock and a key. And it is YOU who has to turn

the key in the lock.

Negotiation is essential, but not enough.

If you want to be successful, your preparation period can’t just be two

days long. It is a process with specific steps and I recommend that you prepare

yourself properly. Don’t let things happen by chance!

Let’s see those necessary steps:


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1. Examine your current situation

You have to be absolutely clear about your opportunities, abilities and

your current situation at you workplace,. It is also important to be able to see

things from your boss’ point of view.

Before buying a car, a house or a computer you will probably examine

your current position and your financial circumstances, or am I wrong? You

will think about what you want, for what purpose you want to buy it and

whether you can afford it or not.

You have to examine your state of affairs before asking for a raise as

well.

In most cases people’s intensions will merely remain intensions without

reaching the next phase, because they are not fully aware of their actual

position.

You will buy a certain type of car if you have a family, and a different

type if you are single and you are on the road all day long.

You have to profoundly think it through if you want to buy a new

apartment. The same applies to asking for a raise. It is essential that you take

account of your present situation. Finding an answer to these questions may

help you get the results that you really want: Why did they hire you? What do

they expect from you? What is you boss like? What are his/her habits?

2. Define your goals

What do you want? A pay raise? How much? Or do you prefer to be

promoted instead? Maybe you want the same salary as before, but less

working hours? Do you want a company car? Or do you want to go to

seminars paid by your company? (By the way: going to seminars will finally

lead you to your pay raise).

You have to define your goals based on the current reality. Asking too

much or even too little can be a problem.

Let’s get back to the example of “Buying a car”. You finally make a

decision about what kind of car you need and you buy it. However, you might


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knock your head against the wall later if you made a wrong decision about the

size, the price or the fuel consumption of the car.

If you want to ask for a raise, you have to be aware of it, which also

includes snooping around. What do you deserve? What will you get for sure

if you ask for it? What would be impossible to get? What would be the extra

amount of work that you will have to do after you get the raise? Do some

research in order to ask for the proper amount of money and in order to get that

money!

3. Preparation

Most people fail to get a raise because they skip this step.

When you are applying for a job (well, if you really want that job), you

prepare yourself, don’t you?

Why is it that most employees before negotiating their salary are not

really willing to think about it? Not even for 15 minutes at least? They simply

feel that they could use a little bit more money, but they run blindly against the

wall. No wonder they feel bad when they hurt themselves or get only the half

of the success they wanted.

If you believe that the most important part of this process is the

negotiation, then I have to disappoint you.

The preparations make out 80 % of the whole process, and the

negotiation itself (convincing your boss that you deserve more money) makes

20 % the most.

In the past I only succeeded to get a raise whenever I respected those

proportions. As it turned out later, it wasn’t true for me only.

If you really think about it, you will realize that it is logical. If you are

going to cook dinner, then it is important that all preparations are made. If not,

you will hurry and burn the food and even yourself.

When building a house, for example, with a proper planning process

there will be little chance for unpleasant surprises and additional costs.


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You also prepare the field when you want your spouse to do something

for you: a nice lunch, some flowers or more attention. These are preparations

too; however they are based on your instincts.

What I really want is to help you prepare yourself consciously in order

to minimize the chances of a rejection. This is not a lottery and luck plays a

very small role here.

4. Assemble you arguments

We live in a world of arguments. Do you agree?

Salesmen try to convince you with arguments to change your car and

buy a new one. Husbands and wives try to influence each other with arguments

day by day. We tend to teach our children not to do foolish things with

arguments and reasons.

And guess what? You need professionally assembled arguments in order

to get what you want (the pay raise).

Working for a company for several years doesn’t automatically mean

that someone deserves a pay raise. In the seventies and eighties the companies

indeed rewarded the loyalty of their employees, but times have changed. Being

loyal is important, but is not enough. Nowadays if you want to get somewhere

you need carefully assembled, logical and neatly conveyed arguments.

5. Your timing

Have you been in situations when you wanted to achieve something, but

did not succeed because of bad timing?

Your spouse finds the food still in the pan, although you have been

making preparations for the dinner for several hours. After the incident you

ask her/him to give you a massage. Don’t be surprised if he/she isn’t too

enthusiastic about the idea.

Suppose your spouse had a bad day at work, and you ask him/her to take

out the garbage immediately after he/she arrives home. You will very likely

fail to achieve your goal and besides, you may end up in a quarrel.


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Later in this book I will talk about periods and moments when you are

not allowed to ask for a match, not to mention a pay raise.

Moreover, I will teach you how to recognize the ideal moments when

you can get a positive response.

6. The negotiation

At present I am a sales executive. My job is to sell my customers the

idea that my product will benefit them (and believe me, I am pretty good at it:

eight out of ten customers will buy my products).

When asking for a raise, the only way to success is to sell the following

idea to your boss: the extra amount of money you are asking for will benefit

him/her.

It sounds a little bit weird, doesn’t it?

I insist on repeating it to you, because it’s very important:

When asking for a raise, the only way to success is to sell the idea to

your boss that the extra amount of money you are asking for will benefit

him/her.

I will give you countless tips and tricks (logically structured, of course),

so that you can use them easily.

For a long time I believed that I can only sell the products that the

customer really wants to buy. Now I know that whatever the customer desires

can and has to be manipulated. However, you are never allowed to fool your

negotiating partner with false promises.

The same principle applies to the process of asking for a raise. Together

we can get your boss want to give you more money, in fact as much money as

you want. We will not achieve this by lying, because your lie will strike back

only once but then it will be fatal for you.


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7. Evaluate you results

It is most unlikely that you won’t get the thing you want if you do

exactly as I tell you.

Wise men learn from their own mistakes, but I hope you will learn from

your own success.

Take your time and contemplate the questions below:

What happened during this process? What were the reasons for that?

What went exactly according to your plan and why? What did not happen the

way you had planned? What are the reasons for that?

No matter if you got everything you have asked for, or part of it, or even

nothing, you have to know very precisely what happened and why.

If you did get the pay raise, find out what were the reasons for getting it.

Knowing consciously what has happened may lead you and your family to

financial success.

I don’t want this whole process to become too complicated, but together

we will examine the situation, define the goal, make the preparations, assemble

an outstanding system of arguments, succeed in the negotiation and at the end

we will find out the reasons for our success. How do you like that process?

So let’s get into it!


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Chapter 4: For what do you get paid?

I’m sure that you do know the answer to this question, but now we

should look for the answer strictly from the employers’ point of view.

Most people think that they get paid because they work. Employers have

a different opinion on this.

“Employees get paid because they accomplish something at their

workplace and they contribute to achieving the company’s goals (which

may not be written down).”

It may sound strange to you, but there is a huge difference between

those two approaches. You can work like crazy all day long and you may get

no results at all.

• No accomplishment: John walks between the shelves of the store

all day long.

• Accomplishment: John put the goods on the shelves.

• No accomplishment: Jane stands behind the front desk all day long.

• Accomplishment: Jane serves the clients all day long.

• No accomplishment: Mary puts the incoming mail on the boss’

desk each day.

• Accomplishment: Mary sorts out the incoming mail and tries to put

on the boss’ desk only the important ones.

For the employer there is an essential difference between the actions

above.


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What do you do exactly? What is your job? Take a look at it from the

employer’s point of view. What does and what doesn’t he/she expect from

you?

Try to look at your job from a different perspective and write down the

things that you believe your boss expects from you. (At the end of the book

you will find a few questions related to this, please answer them and write

those answers down).

A good childhood friend of mine helped me test this material. We were

at a restaurant discussing this topic, so I asked him to try out these ideas and

look at his tasks just like his employer would.

Two weeks later he called to tell me that something interesting

happened.

My friend was a salesman at a computer store. He explained to me that

he took a different look at his tasks and tried to finish them in a way that

would satisfy his boss’ needs.

After a two-week period his boss asked him in his office for a private

conversation and offered him the position of a stock manager, which of course

meant a higher salary.

I think this was the moment when I first realized that anyone should

know about how to ask for a raise.

If you read this book carefully and follow my instructions, you will get

your raise. Who knows, you won’t even have to ask for it.


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Chapter 5: Why do you get a raise?

The first question you have to ask yourself is: what is the source of a

pay raise?

Is it a lottery win? Does your boss give you a raise from his personal

earnings?

The answer is no. The source of your salary and pay raise is the money

that your company has earned with your contribution.

At a certain scale you influence the income and performance of the

company you work at. I will talk about this in detail later in the Preparation

chapter, but until then please reflect on this for a moment.

Actually you don’t have to be grateful to your boss for getting a pay

raise. No! You have to be proud of yourself, because you have done your job

so well, that you deserve a raise.

It may seem strange to you, but asking for a raise is not about money.

Your employer might first think of more expenses (generated by you)

when he/she hears about you wanting a pay raise. You can only succeed if you

can convince your boss that the pay raise given to you is actually an

investment with a high rate of return.

You have to see it just like a job interview. This time, however, you

have an advantage: they know you and they also know your attitude, skills and

qualities. This is a huge advantage, but you have to be aware of it and use it for

your own benefits.

I repeat:

You have to sell yourself in order to be successful.

If your arguments are based on your past, they will only strengthen

your current position and validate your current salary.


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Arriving on time to your workplace and doing your job as you are told

are very important arguments, but don’t be disappointed if your boss replies:

“That is what you are paid for”.

The biggest mistake you can make when asking for a raise is focusing

exclusively on the past.

For a guaranteed success you will need arguments that will make your

boss think like this:

“If I give him/her the extra money he/she is asking for, then I can only

win!”

And what will your boss gain from it?

1. The problems your boss cannot solve will be solved by somebody

else, so he/she will be more efficient being able to focus on his/her own duties

only.

2. He/she will be relieved of a part of the pressure, in this way he/she

will not be stressed all the time.

3. The production will grow, the company can offer higher quality

products, and so more income will be generated.

4. Your boss can earn more money.

A pay raise isn’t just about money: it means responsibility, compliment

and appreciation as well. These aren’t just words. You constantly build these

values inside you and around you but you can easily destroy them anytime

with a single strike.

Both sides win with a pay raise.

You do, for sure, because your boss has already agreed to give you a

pay raise and will not revoke his decision. It is your boss who takes all the risk,

because he/she doesn’t know for certain if this pay raise will benefit him/her.

There is an idea which you can use in all areas of life:

There are things which you cannot influence directly, only

indirectly.


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This is very important.

You cannot achieve to get a pay raise. What you can achieve is to

change your boss’ opinion about you, so he/she can approve of your raise.

Do you understand? You have to influence your boss so your boss

can offer you a pay raise.

Do not focus on getting a raise. You must become a better, more

valuable and useful coworker in his/her eyes in order to be awarded with

a raise.

This way of thinking is the opposite of the standard way. You have to

look at your workplace, coworkers and performances just like your boss does.

Here are a few common reasons why someone can get a raise

(sometimes even without asking for it):

• Inflation.

• Your boss likes you.

• You have to work more than agreed – it’s time to make a new

agreement.

• You went to a job interview.

• Reasons related to the labor market.

1. Inflation

I won’t give you scientific definition, but the essence is the following:

If last year you could buy 100 pounds of cheese for 50 dollars then this

year you can buy only 89 pounds for the same amount of money.

You cannot blame your employer for it and you are not to be blamed

either.

The inflation influences mainly your spending power and most of the

employees try to raise your salary in order to maintain your buying power.


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But watch out! Sometimes a pay raise meant to compensate the negative

effects of the inflation is just a “sleeping pill”.

We had a person who tested this material and whose boss played this

game very skillfully. They raised the salaries of their employees twice a year

and they achieved that no employee had asked for a raise. They kept their

employees asleep and underpaid.

2. Your boss likes you

It’s not what you think. It’s not the case of the young inexperienced girl

and the big boss.

You might do your work at an average level, but your personality still

contributes to the happiness of your boss.

What matters most is your consideration and attention: maybe you

inflate the tires of your boss’ car without him/her knowing about it. Your smile

may cheer him/her up each day or maybe he/she likes your jokes. Perhaps you

take your boss’ dog for a walk or you pay his/her phone bill because you are

going to pay yours anyway. You remind him of his wife’s birthday although he

never asked you to. Or you bring it to his/her attention that a machine has to be

serviced.

There are so many minor things which can make your boss form a high

opinion of you; all you need is a notebook.

The essence is that your boss as a person needs a little help, cheer

him/her up and make his/her life easier.

There are people who are very good at it. But do not confuse it with

bootlicking! Employers generally condemn sycophancy, but appreciate careful

and considerate people.

3. You have to work more than agreed

I have seen many cases in which someone gets hired to do a specific job,

but as the time goes by he/she gets attached to more and more other tasks.


25

For example:

• You were responsible for the internal purchase orders, but now you

have to take care of external orders too and you also have to organize some

part of the shipment process.

• You have been hired as salesman, but now you are responsible for

the repository too.

• A colleague has left and because you were good at your job, you

took over a part of your colleague’s responsibilities, without getting an

adequate pay raise for it.

• A colleague has left and his/her work has been distributed to three

persons but his/her salary has not.

Take a good look at these cases.

Look back in you past: at the time you were hired, what was your scope

of activities? What was set down in black and white? What was your salary

back then?

What do you do right now? Have more responsibilities been assigned to

you? If so, did you get a pay raise in exchange for your new duties?

4. You were at a job interview

Yes … sometimes it is worth applying for certain jobs at other

companies. This way you can get a clear picture about how much your

profession or your experience is worth.

Think about it: if you don’t do this, then you can make the mistake of

asking too little or too much when negotiating your new salary. Your

information on your salary will be based on gossips which can be either trusted

or not.

Once a year send a resume, go to an interview and get a clear picture

about how much your profession or experience is worth.

Maybe tomorrow you will find out that you are underpaid with 20%!


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I do not recommend switching your job for a few dollars more, because

it might not be easier for you. You have to work hard for your money

wherever you go. At a new workplace you will find new colleagues, a new

boss, new tasks and duties and you have to get used to them all. In most cases

it’s not worth it.

5. The labor market

How many participants are there on the labor market with the same

profession as yours?

For example: if it is hard to find a real good personal assistant then you

will deserve more appreciation.

Do you know how hard it is to find a trustworthy and hardworking (and

non-alcoholic) construction worker?

What about your profession? What’s happening on the labor market?

You will have a higher value if there are only a few people like you. But

if there are plenty of people with the same job as yours, then you can easily be

replaced.

It is something very simple, but it’s important for you to know how

much you are worth on the labor market.

Here is an interesting example related to salaries and pay raises:

In which of the following cases don’t you mind giving a tip?

Imagine the situations below:

1. You go to a restaurant with your family on a Saturday. You order

the lunch, but it is served slowly, the whole restaurant smells like food, the

waiter is impatient and your food is cold.

2. You are at lunch with your family. You don’t have to wait too long

to be served, the environment is clean, the food is good and waiter behaves

appropriately.


27

3. You are having lunch with your family on a Saturday. While

waiting for the food to be served, you get some delicious cheese cream and

toast to eat (on the house of course), the waiter is very friendly and the food is

exceptional.

In which of the above cases would you be willing to give a decent tip to

the waiter? Stupid question, I know. In the third one, of course!

The same principles apply when asking for a pay raise. You do your job

and in exchange you get paid. That’s how much the lunch costs. But if

professionally and socially you can offer more than you are expected to, then

you are on the right path to your pay raise. This will be your “tip”.

Let’s see: how much extra effort is needed on behalf of the waiter to be

more patient and friendly with you, to pay more attention to you? Or what is

the extra expense on behalf of the restaurant to give you some cheese for free?

A few cents … and they will be greatly rewarded because you will leave a tip

for the waiter and will tell all your friends how great that place is.

This is what you basically have to do:

Do your job to your best knowledge and try to give your

unsurpassed abilities both on personal and professional levels.


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Chapter 6: When should you ask for a raise?

Choosing the most suitable timing is absolutely important.

If you ask for it at the right moment, then you have very good

chances to get a pay raise and you don’t even need to achieve a high level

performance.

I have put together a “compilation” of periods and moments at which

you have good chances to get a raise. Of course, you know that choosing the

perfect moment is not enough; however, it is very important!

1. When your company is getting good results – at the yearly

evaluation

Almost every employer makes an annual (or a bi-annual) evaluation.

Even if your employer does not do that, you may still know if your company is

getting good results or not. If your boss tells you some good news and says:

“Keep up the good work guys!”, then it is very good time to tell him/her about

the pay raise.

Employers know that the performance of a company or a division is not

entirely doe to their personal efforts. If the results are good, the boss will know

that you have contributed to those results too. What are you waiting for? This

is a very good time to ask for a raise.

There are workplaces and activities where the goals are clearly defined.

For example: in the next 6 months you have to sell a thousand shoes or

within the next month your division has to produce 30.000 car tires.

Reaching these goals is not a coincidence: you also contribute to these

results. (You agree with me, don’t you?)

We have achieved our goal, haven’t we? I have something to do with it,

don’t I? Then let’s talk about my pay raise, boss!


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2. When you get results

Have you signed a lot of contracts lately? Or have you managed all

incoming purchase orders without any errors?

It’s good to have spectacular results. More ideal is to perform much

better than your colleagues.

Really, if you get good results, then your boss will have a good

impression of you. Be optimistic and let your salary be increased with the help

of a well assembled list of arguments and a cunning negotiation.

3. If you take on some spectacular extra work

Did someone get sick leaving you to take over his/her responsibilities?

Has a new colleague joined the company and you are the one who has to teach

or mentor him/her?

Or did you take someone under your wings of your own free will?

In all these cases you have to do the work you are normally paid for and

besides, you have to fulfill the new responsibilities or take care of your new

colleague.

If things like this have happened to you, then you can ask for more

money because in such cases you need to make spectacularly greater efforts in

order to finish your job.

4. When you get promoted!

It is extremely unlikely to get promotion without a pay raise. The

question is whether the pay raise is or not proportional with the knowledge,

experience and responsibility that are needed for your new scope of duties.

Make a little investigation! If there is someone who works in that

position, you should find out how much he/she earns.

(In these cases you can see how important it is to maintain a good

relationship with as many coworkers as you can – this is the only way to get

useful information.)


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If you think you are right (and the numbers show that you are), feel free

to request more than offered.

However, do not forget that with this action your boss has demonstrated

that he/she trusts you. Do not abuse his/her kindness, but if the experience

which is needed for your new job is not even close to your new salary, then

you can ask with confidence for more money.

5. If there is a fixed salary for a specific type of job

There are some cases in which there are fixed salaries for certain types

of jobs. You can do nothing about it. For example: 1900$ for the assistant of

the accountant.

You can ask for a pay raise even in these cases. But do not ask for a pay

raise directly.

Don’t go telling your boss that you need more money. Tell him the

following: “Hi boss! I think I have achieved everything that is possible in my

current position, now I would like to face new challenges. How could I

possibly get a promotion?”

If your boss is willing to make the necessary steps – to give you more

responsibilities – then the same laws apply as when you are getting promoted.

6. Which day of the week?

Your boss might feel tired after the weekend and he would rather go

fishing on Monday, so the first day of the week is not suitable to ask for a pay

raise.

Friday is just the same: he/she would like to go home and play tennis;

it’s no use talking about company matters on Fridays. On Thursday the boss

begins to feel tired already, so you should avoid Thursdays too.

Yes. Only Tuesdays and Wednesdays are left. According to statistics

these two days are the most suitable for asking for a raise. Find out on which

of these two days is your boss in his/her best shape.


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7. If you behaved humanly in certain approaches

You feel good, you are working at full speed and your colleagues are

feeling it too?

Or a diet you have recently been on has made you highly energetic?

Did you recharge your batteries during the holidays and you are

unstoppable even two months after?

I think you get what I am trying to say.

A new salary can easily maintain this good temper.

8. If your company usually gives out pay raises during the spring

There are companies which decide to offer pay raises during spring

time.

By this time they have a general idea of the results of the previous year

and they have also had enough time to evaluate the departments, the divisions

and the workers in particular.

The problem is that they will give you less than you could get during a

personal negotiation.

By giving out pay raises willingly, employers try to take precedence

over a difficult and awkward situation, thus preventing workers from asking

for a higher salary.

Will this be convenient for you?

Take charge!

This is what you have to do:

You get your spring-time pay raise and after five or six months you will

be asking again. Of course you will prepare for this as well as possible. You

will see how in the “Preparations” chapter of this book.


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9. If they do it twice a year, then it is not by chance - you should

step out of the line before it’s too late

It doesn’t occur very often, but there are employers who evaluate their

employees and results twice a year, prior to their pay raise. This is similar to

the “spring time trick”, because they would like to prevent you from asking for

a raise. And of course they will decide about your salary without:

- asking you,

- you bringing up arguments which could strengthen your position,

- you using your personal negotiation power.

This is what you have to do:

You can find out approximately when these evaluations take place.

Prevent them!

Before they start talking about numbers, talk to your boss and reach out

your hand!

After the negotiation you will probably get an answer like: “We will

soon make a decision regarding this issue”. The important thing is that you

will have the opportunity to make them have a better opinion about you.

They will be looking from a different angle at your name when making

the list of the pay raises.

10. You have finished a training or a seminar which is relevant

for your performance and your job

As I have already mentioned earlier, the approval of your pay raise

doesn’t really relate to your results in the past, but rather to how this extra

expense will return to your employer.

If you have finished a training course lately, which is relevant to your

work and will help you become more effective at your workplace, then this is

definitely going to increase your chances to get a raise.

Think about it:


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- If you are a secretary and you have finished a course on

typewriting, then you will be writing the letters faster, so you will have more

time for other things. (this saving of time should be paid to you)

- You are a purchasing agent and you finished a language course.

From now on you can do your tasks more effectively, and you will have more

time for other things. Isn’t this worth some extra money for your boss? Of

course it is!

11. You find out that someone doing the same job as you earns

more than you

This can be a good argument, but you have to watch out, because it can

easily take an unexpected turn.

If you both happen to do exactly the same work, with the same results

and with the same approach, but he/she still earns more money, then you can

go right to your boss.

However, it is recommended to see to it, because your colleague might

have a higher morale than your. Or he/she may have been working at this

position for a longer time than you and your boss trusts him/her more.

Eventually take a look at his/her overtimes or personal relationship with your

boss.

Be very careful because if you do not notice the difference between you

and your colleague, then your boss surely will. And it will be quite painful to

hear it right from your boss that you are performing worse than your colleague.


34

Chapter 7: When NOT to ask?

There are moments which are simply inappropriate to ask for a raise.

Please avoid these carefully.

If you choose the wrong time to tell your boss that you deserve more,

you might end up loosing your job rather then receiving a pay increase.

1. Not “On the fly”

Imagine the following scenario: your boss jumps out of his car, runs to

his office, he is clearly in a big hurry. In moments like this the only think you

might ask him is whether he needs your help or not, don’t even think of asking

for a raise. He/she obviously has bigger problems on his mind then to listen to

your arguments supporting the raise that you requested.

Choose your moment wisely; it is better to wait for a few days than

being rejected and having to start from scratch again.

2. Before or after an important negotiation

It is absolutely sure that before or after an important negotiation only a

deaf ear is turned to your request.

Before an important meeting it is impossible for your boss to think

about anything but the negotiation.

After the negotiation his/her brain is almost burning, his/her thoughts

are playing crazy. Let your boss calm down first, this isn’t the ideal moment

for asking for a raise anyway.

3. Before or after you take a holiday

This is quite obvious.

An attempt as described bellow has hardly any chance of success:

“Hi, boss. Next week I am going on a vacation. Besides, I could use a

pay raise, what do you think?”

Or:


35

“Hi, boss! I have just returned from my holidays and I have been

thinking that I could really use a pay raise, what do you think? ” He/she will

probably reply that he/she is extremely happy that you have been meditating

on this during your holidays.

4. After getting a pay raise

It doesn’t matter whether you have been given a pay raise “ex officio”

or you have asked for it. It would be a foolish thing to ask again for another

one after two or three months.

If you are promoted, you deserve a pay raise, but if no significant

change happened in your job description then you should do nothing. You

might destroy your carefully built image if requesting anything without the

proper reasons.

5. After committing a serious blooper

If a blooper caused by you keeps your colleagues working for three days

in a row to fix the issue, it wouldn’t be wise to approach your boss asking for a

pay raise. He/she probably would have clear motive NOT to give you any kind

of raise no matter how solid your arguments would be.

6. Your boss has a fixed schedule

There are leaders who take their lunch time seriously. If you have

steeled yourself for the decisive step right during lunch time, forget about it! If

your boss insists on talking to you right before lunch, you had better tell

him/her that you have something extremely important to do (at your workplace

of course) or send him/her calmly to eat and suggest you will talk afterwards.

But for God’s sake, do not ask for a pay raise at lunch time.

These kinds of people have a scheduled metabolism: they are used to

eating at specific times. As soon as you pronounce “pay raise”, they get

hungrier and grumpier.

He/she will not want the listen to your arguments, instead, they would

rather get rid of you (“Yes, of course, we’ll talk about this later.”) and you can


36

only blame yourself for giving your boss time to think and forge

counterarguments.

7. If your behavior and performance are not OK

If you are in a period when you are regularly late from work, or require

continues help from your colleagues then clearly it is not the right time for a

pay increase.

Instead, give yourself some time to get back on track and then approach

the pay raise subject once more.

Do not forget: stance, results and morale.

You have to handle these areas of your work, and the gate of the

increased salaries will be opened to you.

8. If you don’t feel so

It is possible that you are not sure about a pay raise right now. You

might be in your pessimistic period when you are not sure of yourself.

If so, don’t even think about it.

The insecurity will be automatically felt in your voice and if you are not

certain that you deserve a pay raise, how can your boss be sure that this will be

a good investment for him/her?

There is an old saying:

“You can loose a battle … the war has to be won.”

It is better to postpone the petition than seeing a door slammed right

before you only because of bad timing.


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Chapter 8: How much should you ask?

It is very important to ask for the right amount of money, because:

- if you ask too less and you get it then you may wonder later why

you didn’t ask for more

- if you ask too much and you don’t get it then it’s bad

- if you ask too much and you get it, it will be good for a short time,

but the problem is that you will be observed for a long time and will not be

able to ask for another pay raise soon.

1. General statistics

Generally it is recommended to ask for a 10–15 % increase. You may

ask 20 % only if you have rock solid arguments.

If you feel that it would be difficult for you to get a 10% raise, but you

still have reserves (stance, results, morale) regarding your working

capabilities, you could achieve the desired % gradually, by following the

below described steps.

First step:

- Ask for only 7% - or for the corresponding amount of money

Second step:

- Work a little bit harder (in the areas of stance, results and morale)

Third step:

- After six or eight months ask for another 7% raise.

This way you can achieve a 14% pay raise within six or eight months,

but of course this is doable only if you work harder and show results.

2. Have a minimum and a maximum

I am sure that by now you know how much pay raise you would like to

get.


38

Know what the minimum as well as the maximum amount would be that

would please you.

After presenting your arguments your boss may agree with you,

moreover, he/she may even be the one who will offer you a raise.

If you are unprepared, you will agree easily and will regret it after

stepping out the boss’ office. You will be knocking your head against the wall,

saying: “If I had been smarter, I would have received more!”

3. If your boss suggests an amount, suggest a little bit more

The easiest way to explain this is the following example:

You have a salary of $1000 and you would like to have it increased to

$1150, representing a 15% raise.

You tell your boss that you want $1150 but his/her answer is: “Yes, I

can see that you have made good progress, but I cannot give you more than

$1070.”

In other words your boss wants to give you $80 less than what you want.

Depending on your situation, come up with one or more arguments in

order to get to the desired $1150, but if you see that it isn’t working, you

should try to get at least a 10% raise.

In any case, if your boss agrees to give you a raise, you will have a half-

victory, meaning that you have successfully convinced her/him that you

deserve more.

4. Be ready to make a compromise

There can be situations in which your boss doesn’t offer you a certain

amount of pay raise; instead he/she will ask you how much you thought of.

In situations like this, you are the winner, because you have managed to

make your boss agree with your salary increase. This is very important.


39

Keep it real and tell your boss the maximum amount of money that you

have in mind.

He/she will probably not agree immediately, instead, he/she might start

negotiating with you.

While he/she is speaking do not think about how to contradict him/her.

Listen to the arguments presented to you, if they are solid ones, then you

should be ready to compromise, and lower your request (a little bit).

So you can achieve three things:

1. You will get a pay raise,

2. Your boss will be feeling victorious

3. You will grow in his/her eyes because you didn’t try to hold on to

your arguments, instead you took his opinion in consideration as well (do this

only if he/she is absolutely right).


40

Chapter 9: The preparations

This is the most important chapter. If you are rejected, you will have to

remain silent for several months.

However, you can avoid rejection with careful, step by step planning.

Depending on your boss or your position it can take months for you to

be surely successful. Be prepared!

1. From whom should I ask?

Just like a good salesman who prepares himself for every client, you

need to be prepared when asking for a pay raise.

In this case your boss is the client: you have to sell him/her the idea that

you deserve more.

Ask yourself the questions:

What kind of person is your boss?

What could catch his/her attention?

Try to find out what his/her image of a perfect employee is:

- Always on time

- Creative

- Of easy virtue

- Predictable

- Shuts his/her mouth

- Expresses his/her opinion

- Does not care about formalities

- Formalities are very important to him/her

- Environmentalist

- Family centric

- A man of numbers and calculations


41

- Reliable

- An artist

- A team builder

- A lonely warrior

- and so on…

Which of the above characterizes your boss? You need to be clear about

these things, because as you will see later, it is very important to know to

whom you are trying to sell the idea that you deserve more money.

Write down the qualities that best suit your boss and try to conform

yourself a little bit but without giving up your identity! Just simply try to

understand those qualities.

2. During the month which comes before you ask…

Get yourself in shape; in every aspect of your life. Don’t be late, not

even a second! The clothes you are wearing at work have to be impeccable. If

it is a smock, it should be clean; if it’s a suit, it should be ironed. Tidy up your

working area – it doesn’t matter if it is a car, an office desk or a workshop –

try keeping everything organized, exceeding your employer’s expectations.

Be interested in what you do at work – no one should see you sitting at

your desk with a bored face.

Try to be enthusiastic and interested or else you might be caught in a

bad mood at the wrong moment.

I know that you have been trying to complete your tasks on time, but

during the weeks that precede your petition try to work at 110% efficiency.

Your colleagues may ask you: “What has happened to you?” Your

answer should be simple: “I love to do my work” or “Nothing… I just feel

good”.

Don’t say that you are pleased with your life and your job, this might

start a rumor that you don’t even need a raise.


42

3. How to preheat…

You can easily express your interests and stance regarding your job.

I do not believe that you haven’t got a few proposals that could make

your company work better.

Think about these a little bit:

- How could the clients be served faster?

- How could it be achieved to make fewer mistakes?

- How could a better mood be created inside the company?

- How could the clients or anyone waiting to be served, feel better

and satisfied?

- How could the workshop be kept clean all the time?

- How could the company consume less electricity and fuel?

- How could the company sell more?

- How could …?

Thinking about these questions will surely generate new ideas that can

help your company. You may even ask your friends, who knows, they might

be able to help you.

As you have got one or two good ideas, present your proposal the

following way:

“I have just come back from my holidays and I had been thinking on the

beach that…”

“We have spent our weekend at my mother-in-law and an idea struck

me…”

This way you can show your boss that you are really interested in what

you are doing, and you are constantly thinking about how you could be of help

to your employer.


43

He/she may say that “It’s a good idea, we will be thinking about it.” or

“I have been thinking about it as well.” Actually, it doesn’t matter what his/her

answer will be. The important thing is that your boss will see the following:

You are thinking about how to move forward the company you are

working at, unselfishly and even in your free time.

If you do this well, you will fully soften your boss.

By the way … I never said to come up with just a single proposal!

4. How to preheat. Part II

Don’t worry if you are lacking ideas of how to improve certain areas of

the company.

Every boss has moments when he/she is calm and relaxed and that is the

moment when you should ask:

“Hey boss, how could I improve the results of the company?” This is the

key question. Do you know why; because only one out of a thousand

employees will ever ask this question.

I bet that none of his/her employees has ever asked him/her this

question. And your boss will become soft again just like in the other situation,

thinking:

“Humph … what do I see? Here is a person I never took too seriously

and now he/she wants to help me … humph, humph”.

You have to plant the seed. If you boss has a positive picture about you

in his/her mind then you will have no problems with getting a raise.

5. Actions – numbers – plans – stance – results

You need to have a list of results and arguments in order to be able to

sustain your petition with some evidence.


44

If you have a detailed list – which you should know by heart – it will be

easy for you to argue, there will be no stuttering and your boss will not get

you.

I will give you a few examples below. Of course you will have to apply

them to your unique situation. There is no need to affirm things that are not

true.

Here are the examples:

- You saved money.

- You solved a problem.

- You lead a larger team.

- You trained someone.

- You trained yourself.

- You are taking more responsibility.

6. If there is fixed salary for your type of job

There are companies which have fixed salaries for certain jobs and you

“cannot ask for more”.

Believe me: you can. All you have to do is follow the instructions in this

book.

If you feel that you want to reach your goal with a promotion, you will

have to prepare for that.

Is some kind of special skill necessary?

Maybe you need to learn a new language?

Is it necessary for you to spend more time in your company’s service, in

order to be trusted? How could you make them trust you more?

Find out what the requirements are for which a person in your position

has to qualify.


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7. The appointment

At most workplaces you have to make an appointment with your boss in

order to have a private conversation. In “When NOT to ask” chapter I have

already talked about the moments or days when it is not worth asking for a

raise. Go read it again if necessary.

But I have not told you how to justify this appointment.

If you try with: “I would like to have a talk with you about my salary”,

one of the following to scenarios is likely to happen:

1. Your boss will postpone it.

2. Sooner or later your boss will sit down and have that talk with you,

but he/she will already be prepared with counter-arguments.

I would like to make it perfectly clear: your boss is not doing this

because he/she is evil! He/she will be considering only the expenses regarding

you and Uncle Sam until you do not sell him/her the idea that your pay raise is

a fantastic investment for him/her.

With this you can mess up everything that you have planned carefully

for months.

You will be more trustworthy if you say something like this:

“You know boss, I would like to have a talk with you when things calm

down … I would like to get some advice on my future career plans, my stance

and my work”.

You won’t be lying by telling this, because you really want to talk about

your career and your stance – you only want to make them more “expensive”.

In situations like this two things might happen:

1. You will get an appointment and your boss will not bother him-

/herself with this problem until then.

2. You will get an appointment and your boss will be chewing upon

this: “I wonder if he/she has enough challenge in his/her work.” or “I like this


46

person, he/she had some interesting proposals last time … I wonder if he/she

has other good ideas.”

Do you see where I’m getting at? You can start a series of positive

thoughts in your boss’ head which you have already begun during the preheat

phase.

If you are doing everything well until this point, you won’t miss aim.

Now it will be hard to destroy the positive picture which your boss has created

of you.

8. The big day

The day that you have been waiting for so long has finally come. If

everything goes as planned you will go home with a higher salary.

But be aware!

You have to check your boss’ mood at the beginning of the day.

Did he/she slam the door of his car? Was he/she yelling at someone on

the phone?

Has a contract been broken up today? Will the IRS pay him/her a visit

today?

Of course you will not walk up to your boss, asking: “Hi boss! How are

you doing today?”

Just keep your eyes and ears open. Every workplace or organization has

its specific traits. This is why I cannot give you a detailed list about how to

check the mood of your boss, but here are some useful tips:

- The secretary (it’s recommended to win her confidence too)

- Find those colleagues who have already talked with your boss and

find out more.

- Notice his/her facial expressions as he/she is walking among your

coworkers.

- How did he/she greet the porter?


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If you are unlucky and every sign shows that it is not a good idea to ask

for a raise today, then you should put the opportunity off, because:

You may loose the battle … the war has to be won.

In a situation like this try to back out of the negotiation:

- “Boss, I see that this is not your day … we should postpone it”

- “Something urgent has come up and I have to do it immediately …

we will talk about it some other time”

Trust me. It is worth waiting a week longer rather then receiving a

rashly NO answer and being stuck in the same salary range for several months

to follow.


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Chapter 10: If you missed out something…

You might be lacking the necessary results and skills for getting a pay

raise.

In this case you have to be the master of Preparation and Negotiation.

This way you could earn a promotion “in advance”.

What happens in situations like this?

You have preheated the situation so skillfully and you have sold

yourself so well during the negotiation that now your boss believes that you

are or will surely be a good investment.

But you have to be very careful with this! Your boss can be fooled only

once… if it turns out later that it was not worth it, your fate will be sealed (and

your next employer will probably check your background information).

While testing this material, I had two guys who had done this so

excellently that their boss gave them a pay raise without needing to ask for it.

Why was this “overdone”? Because they were not prepared for the negotiation,

they only worked on the Preparations phase.

They had been performing brilliantly during the month before the

“petition” and they had been proposing a lot of useful ideas to their boss until

he called them for a meeting and told them the following: “I would like to

increase your salary with 10%, because I see that you are striving to achieve

something.”

I am convinced that if they had been prepared for the negotiation, they

would have achieved twice as more.

But let’s take a look at this in the Negotiation chapter.


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Chapter 11: Negotiation strategies

The first impression counts. How many times have you already heard

this?

This is true also in our case.

You have been preparing during the last chapters. This means that

you’re on the right path because your boss has a positive image of you in his

mind.

But if you screw this up, do not expect too much.

Be yourself, get yourself together, take a deep breath and get ready!

There is no use to make your boss feel sorry for you; it is also useless to

act or to make statements like a dictator.

I have already mentioned that your boss has to win, too. If not, you will

feel sorry soon.

1. Be determined but do not dictate

There are quite few employers, who like those coworkers who are

permanently trying to dictate them.

This is mainly true in the case of asking for raise. If you demand in a

tone that deflects from the normal, do not wonder in case if being kicked out of

the office.

You may feel filled up with energy because of reading this material, and

the idea of not getting the raise will not even come to you mind.

You do not even consider the option of getting a negative answer, so

you might be more impetuous.

Do not do that! Come up with arguments and reasons and present

yourself in a friendly tune.


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2. If the percentage is too high, talk about the amount

It may happen that you demonstrated such a performance that you

deserve a raise of 20-30%. In this case do not talk about the percentage, but

about the corresponding amount of money.

Which sounds better?

“I would like a raise of 25%.” For example you would like to have your

salary raised from 1000 dollars to 1250 dollars.

Or:

“I would like a raise of 250 dollars.”

3. Do not talk about your salary, but about your raise

Do not talk about your raised salary, but about the difference between

your present and future salary.

Let’s take an example: You have a salary of 3000 dollars per month and

you long to get 3500 dollars. In this case do not negotiate about the 3500

dollars, but about the 500 dollars. Do you see what I mean? If the negotiation

is about a smaller amount of money, you have more chance to win it.

4. Should I behave nervously or look straight in his eyes?

Just be yourself.

If you never had the pluck to look in your boss’ eyes, you may practice

in front of the mirror. If you could always stand his or her glance, keep up with

this work. You don’t have to humble yourself.

The basic rule is: A negotiation partner with a confident look has much

more chances than the one who is coward and shy or whose look could kill.

5. Do not beg!

No matter what happens, do not beg! For most employers this kind of

behavior is disgusting.


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You did your job and you have to feel that you deserve a raise. You

don’t need to beg, just present yourself in a positive way.

If they are not willing to notice that you have REALLY done your best

job, take this book and read the “When to quit?” part of it!

6. Forget the social arguments

Bringing up arguments that relate to social problems is just another form

of begging.

The circumstances that you have unpaid bills or you don’t have enough

money to finance your children’s education are not relevant for your raise. A

raise negotiation ought to be about one’s plans, achievements and results and

not about his financial problems.

If you want to gain your boss over, you have to say the following:

“You know boss, it’s clear for me that I get what I deserve, but give me

a little bit more, please!!!”

If your boss is the person, who you can get almost everything from by

begging, read the “When to quit?” chapter.

You have to be aware of being a person who does good things. It’s not

worth to live humiliated for the money of no account.

7. “I’ll have to think about it”

At a certain point of the negotiation your boss sighs and says:

“Ok, I’ll have to think about it … and then I will decide it.”

If he beats around the bush may mean two things: either you have

almost succeeded or your boss wants to reject you, but he needs more time to

think about how to tell you it.

That is why you have to prevent these situations.

“I understand boss … I don’t want to look pushy, but may I ask you

what you would like to think about?”


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You have to find out the reasons why your boss has to think about it. It

is possible that he wants to check up your work. It may happen that he wants

to know if it is financially affordable. If the reasons are related to you, present

the facts about yourself and if you have them documented, bring those

documents forward to your boss.

If he wants to check up some things that are not related to you (for

example: “I‘m not sure if we can afford it”), ask him:

“If our financial situation allowed this, would you say YES?”

The important thing is to get a quite positive answer from your boss.

8. The power of the “Yes” word

In order to get a big YES, you will need to get many small “Yes”-es.

Let me explain it.

During the negotiation you have to lead your boss step by step.

While you are entering your boss’ office he has to think of the

following:

“Yes … this is a good employee of mine, he/she works hard … I wonder

what he/she wants from me?”

You have to adduce the reasons and virtues that are clear for everyone.

In this way your boss cannot argue with things like:

- I’m always in time.

- If I see that there is much to do, I do not sulk.

- In situations like this I try to keep my colleagues motivated.

- I participated on a training so I can do my job more effectively

Your boss’ answer to these affirmations will be: Yes, or he will nod.

You must talk about things which are impossible to attack.


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If you come in for several positive answers from your boss (“YES”)

regarding to your work, performance and morale, how could he say No to your

petition?

A lucid employer doesn’t do such things, unless he has severe reasons to

do so.

There is something that is attached to the YES answers: the nodding.

If during the negotiation your boss is explaining something to you or he

is telling you a story and you agree with him, nod your head confidently.

Your boss has to see that you agree with him. Say things like “yes”,

“yeah”, “sure” to express your accordance.

Do this only if you totally agree with what the boss is saying.

For example: If your boss talks about the shallow performance of the

company don’t nod your head and agree with him. Just listen and pay

attention.

But if he confirms that you are a good coworker, you do your job well

or he has noticed that you are striving to achieve something, say things like:

“yes”, “yeah”, “sure”, “of course”. You get my meaning, don’t you?

9. Dress for success

If someone tells you that clothing is unimportant, that person is either

stupid or is lying to you. Clothing is essential, but you have to be cautious.

You can easily overdo it, just like in the following examples:

- ultra short skirt

- too much makeup

- warehouse guy dressed in suit

Put on the clothes that correspond to the image of your company.

I mentioned it before: your smock has to be clean. Your suit has to be

ironed. Don’t look dirty or messed up, it will enormously lower your chances.


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But do not look too fancy, because that’s ridiculous. And you will get no

raise for acting (unless you are an actor).

10. Your point of view: you have to sell yourself again

It is in some way a second job interview, but this time your goal is to get

a higher salary.

You have many advantages compared to someone who is looking for a

job.

They are familiar with your abilities and your stance. They have more

information about you than about a new guy.

How much does it take (in time and money) finding someone to replace

you, training and teaching that person, without any guarantee that he/she will

stay at the company?

Convince your boss that you understand the philosophy and needs of the

company and that you take into consideration the interests of the company.

How could you make yourself useful for the company in the future?

11. But I have no person to replace you

Someone (either you or your boss) is thinking about your promotion.

However there is a small problem: there is no one to replace you.

You can convince your boss with a simple idea:

“You know boss, if you find someone, I will train him.”

What’s the trick?

1. If you propose this, you will grow greater in your boss’ eyes,

because leaders have read many times before: “The best employee is who is

able to develop and train other employees”.

2. Your job will be available also for others but you are the one

who is the best at doing that. Accordingly you are the one who is the best at

teaching it to other people.


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3. Your boss will be exempted from training the new tea boy.

If you offer this, do not wonder when your boss thinks of you with tears

in his eyes.

12. What are your boss’ choices?

This is my favorite theme.

You have to negotiate in such way, that your boss won’t wonder

whether he will give you the raise, but what will be the amount of your raise.

As you start making a motion, do not ask your boss if you could get a

15% raise. Ask him if 15 or 20 percent would be more adequate.

I have shown you twelve techniques. Use them as you like. And what’s

important: do not use only one.

Imagine to following scenario:

- You have prepared yourself and managed to look like the ideal

employee.

- You will negotiate at the right time and what you have to say is

tailored accordingly to your boss’ personality.

- Your boss will mostly agree with you, because you apply the power of

the word YES.

- You will assure him that in case of your promotion you will train the

person who is going to replace you.

- Finally you will ask your boss if amount A or B sounds more adequate

to him.

Do you understand the process? If you lead your boss step by step

through this procedure, he has to be an a**hole if he won’t give you the raise.

I’m sure that this process will be clear for you by now. …And if you think that

this is all I have got, then turn the page and read “Plan B” in order to convince

your boss totally!


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Chapter 12: Plan B

It may turn out during the negotiation that your company doesn’t

perform as well as it looks from outside or as your colleagues told you.

It may happen that your boss will say the next:

“Yes, I see that you’re striving but we are not able to give you more

money.”

In a situation like this you should prove to your boss that you are a

person who he can count on.

A raise doesn’t always mean money – if you need no more to spend

money on certain things, that’s also a raise.

Your salary is money – the raise can be “just” money. This is a very

common false belief. Your salary doesn’t have to be money and your raise

doesn’t have to mean getting more money.

You can get restaurant tickets besides your paycheck. Or your company

pays your public transport tickets. Or it pays your fuel or mobile phone charge.

Your company can add your expenses to its own expenses in order to

avoid paying taxes. Your gain will be that you will no more have to pay for

these things. You can keep that money and your savings will increase.

For example: you get a 10% raise, a cell phone from your company or

200 dollars for fuel. Keep a check on what expenses of yours could be

transferred to your company (perfectly legal, of course). This is more

appealing to your employer than giving you and more money.

You can also ask for training as your raise. This is a further step to your

future promotion and your increased salary.

How will your boss think?

“Hum… I have got this fellow here. I should really give him/her more

money, because I can rely on him/her, but I do not have enough resources. ”


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Now it’s time for you to come up with plan B.

“Ok boss, I understand. Let’s see what solution could we possibly find

that will benefit both me and you.”

And you list some possible replacements for your raise.

Your boss will be thinking in this way: “I could pay less tax” or “I send

him on training so thus I will have a better employee.”

Do you get my idea? It is important for your boss to see that you care

about the company, you don’t want to use them for your personal interests and

finally the best: you want to learn in order to become more useful for your

company. You are the ideal coworker!

What can you ask as plan B?

- More holidays

- Flexible working hours

- Monthly fitness subscription

- Monthly indoor swimming-pool subscription

- Monthly sauna subscription

- Trips paid by the company

- Language course

- Fuel money

- Paying your phone bill

Think about it! What is the offer you can come back with?


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Chapter 13: In case of rejection

Well… this isn’t a pleasant experience.

The most important question you have to ask yourself is:

Why?

The first thing to do is to find all the possible reasons why you have

been rejected.

If someone is rejected, he/she will be angry and disappointed.

Write down (in details) as soon as possible what has happened during

the negotiation, because you may forget small but important details.

I repeat it! The first thing to do is to find out what mistakes YOU have

made.

The second thing you have to do is to find out what mistakes you have

made.

- It may happen that you presented yourself in a wrong way because

you were not prepared.

- Maybe you have not judged correctly your performance and results.

- It could occur that the market value of your performance has not been

measured up correctly.

The third thing to do is to sum up if you are working at the right place.

- Does your boss want good performances to be appreciated?

- Is your employer able to lead the organization in such way that

valuable employees are financially appreciated? (by giving them a raise for

example)

- Does the product of your company solve the public interest?

What I want to emphasize here is that you have to analyze the reasons

why you have been rejected.


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If you do this seriously and you draw the conclusions, you will have

99% more chances to succeed next time.

Besides you will acquire a knowledge which you will be able to use in

several situations during your lifetime.


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Chapter 14: After a positive answer

Yes! I’m a good employee, I prepared myself carefully, all went

according to the plan and I have the raise!

What should I do now?

It’s not the best idea to jump off the chair and thank your boss with tears

in your eyes. You can easily destroy your image with something like this.

You will probably be extremely happy but try to control your emotions

and stay in a moderate mood.

If you celebrate, your boss will think that you had been pleased with

less… don’t let your boss feel bad after the negotiation.

Be discreet – but don’t be indifferent or neutral – thank it to your boss.


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Chapter 15: If your boss is not the owner

It may happen that your boss is not the owner of the company.

This means that the person who you ask for the raise from, disposes

only of the salary amount. It also can be that the system doesn’t allow your

boss to give you a raise without asking for permission.

In this case the basic rules and the raise negotiation strategies remain

almost the same. We talk about the same things:

- Work.

- Benefits: how will your raise benefit your employer?

- Trust and investment (your raise has to be an investment for your

boss).

This is different from negotiating with the company owner. You have to

watch out for the following:

1. Your boss has to show results too – but in a different way

No boss has the dream of working 24/7.

You have to demonstrate your boss that your raise is a good investment

and by giving it to you he can generate more profit for the owner.

There are two ways to persuade your boss:

- He will experience more performance by giving you a raise – so he

can show up more income and profit.

Or

- He will have to work less because you will take over certain

responsibilities as an effect of the raise.

Your boss can win with both of these solutions, so keep them in your

mind while you are preparing your arguments.


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2. If your boss has to ask for permission

If he has to ask someone for permission, give him a series of arguments

that he can use, based on the previous chapters of this book.

3. Can you even skip the “little chief”?

Also in the case when the owner works inside the company, the

organizational system requires you to talk to the “little chief” (your immediate

superior) first.

Do not skip him because he will resent it. Or it may happen that you

reach somehow the “big boss”, he will send you back to the “little chief”,

because he is the one who responds for such matters.

So the basic rule is: do not skip your little chief, even if you have the

chance to do so.

However, for each rule there is an exception. You may ignore your

immediate superior if he is a wasp and impossible to stand or if he is a weak

person and is afraid of making a decision.

Your little exec is a wasp if he doesn’t even want to listen to you or tries

to feed you with some bullshit.

Find out what the exact rules inside your company are in case of getting

promotion or a raise and apply to what you have learned from this material.

And if the organizational structure of your company makes your

struggle senseless, take this book and read the “When to quit?” chapter.

4. If the little chief has to discuss it with the big boss

If your immediate superior is a tough guy, he will assure you that he is

going forward with your petition to the big boss. In this case you have to

prepare your immediate superior.

As soon as he tells the big boss that someone has asked for a raise, the

exec will ask in that very moment: “Who is that? What person is he/she like?”


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You have to prepare your little chief with arguments in order to sell you

to the big boss. It is important that the company owner has to see more benefits

and results than expenses.

5. If your goal is to get promoted, you will compete for the job of

your little chief

If you work on being promoted, you probably will have to take over

your little chief’s place and he won’t be happy about it.

If you feel that you can produce no more (professionally and

financially), make approaches to your employer. Do not argue or start a war,

because it will do no good for you while looking for a future workplace. (They

may check up on you at your former employer).

Maybe you can manage to get him promoted too?

This would be the ideal thing to do. You could make a plan together in

order to get both of you promoted, so you can take his place without having

any conflicts. Of course there could be a little possibility of getting just your

little chief promoted.

6. Write it down

It happens very rare, but if your company practices this, you have to be

prepared.

Your little chief may ask you to write down what you want and he will

forward it to the big boss. In this case you might have 2 strategies:

1. Insist on meeting the person who makes the decision

If it is not possible:

2. Write a detailed letter about what you want

Write down your expectations, your approach during the preparations,

your proposals which have helped the company and list your results too.


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As you write this letter, imagine that you are in the boss’ office and you

are the only one who is speaking, your boss is just listening to you.

7. If the situation “requires”, quit your job

You have to be prepared to the situation that your boss cannot give you

more money because of your position. You probably deserve it, but he

disposes only of a certain amount of money.

It can also happen that the only possible solution is to get promoted by

replacing your little chief. However, he has no possibility of getting a

promotion, or doesn’t want to be promoted.

Well, in this case it is recommended to think about changing your

employer.


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Chapter 16: Recapitulation

In order to get a raise, you have to do the following:

1. Be honest and ask yourself: Do I deserve it?

2. If no, you have to do something which helps you FEEL like this.

3. If yes, get rid of the thought: “I am afraid to ask”.

4. Prepare the field in order to look well in the eyes of your employer

– use as many ideas as you can from the “Preparations” chapter.

5. Prepare yourself – with arguments, numbers and reasons.

6. Set your goal – how much do you want to get it? Be realistic!

7. Find the most convenient time or moment.

8. Be confident and be yourself!

9. Use the techniques from “Negotiations” chapter! Use as many as

you can.

10. Don’t be stubborn, be ready to make compromises!

11. Always have a plan B!

12. Do not take advantage of the trust that your employer has invested

in you!

Twelve step. Not too much but not too few either. These steps represent

a straight path to your success. And the most important are steps 4, 5 and 6.


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Chapter 17: Checklist

1. Why have I been hired? What was the original idea? Try to

remember and write down in details what they were expecting from you.

2. Do you feel that you meet those expectations? If no, what will you

have to do in order to keep maximally what you have originally agreed? Write

it down!

I have already got a raise since I was hired.

How have I been doing my job since I got that raise? Do I fulfill

my promises? Do I meet their expectations?

3. How will my work contribute to a higher income of the company?

How could my work cut off the expenses?

4. What could the boss gain through me? Can I solve some problems

that he is not able to? Can I do some things what he has no time to do?

5. How can I reach that my boss “loves me”? What tiny things could I

do for him? (without being a bootlicker)

6. What is my value on the labor market? Am I easily replaceable?

Does my job require expertise and experience?

7. Why do I expect a “tip” from my employer?

8. How much raise do I want? Should I negotiate about an amount or

a percentage?

9. What would be good for me according to “Plan B”?

10. What will I have to do according to the “Preparations” chapter?

Write a paragraph for each step!

- Who do I have to ask from?

- What do I have to do during the month before the negotiation?

- How to preheat?

- How to preheat? Part II.

- Actions – numbers – plans – stance – results

- Is there a fixed salary for your type of job?


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11. Actions – numbers – plans – stance – results. Create a list: Why are

you a good employee? (For example: you saved money, you solved a problem,

you coordinated a bigger project, you attained to a training or you took over

greater responsibility)

12. What do I have to say in order to get my boss feel the following: I

am a trustworthy person and he can rely on me?

13. Why is a good investment for my boss to give me a raise?

Do not underestimate the power of practice! An Olympic swimmer

practices four years in order to achieve the maximum in 15 minutes.

Spend time working on each step, practice the important steps with

your spouse or your best friend.

It is important that the key ideas come without stressing yourself.


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Dialogs

Y: You

B: The boss

Situation 1

Wrong:

Y: “Hi boss! Sorry for bothering you … can I make an appointment with

you to talk about my raise?”

Right:

Y: “Hi boss! I would like to make an appointment with you to talk about

my work and performance.”

Here is the point:

If your company’s culture requires you to ask for appointments, NEVER

tell your boss the reason why you are asking for the appointment. Don’t give

the chance for him to prepare himself.

Situation 2

The boss is in a hurry, and you approach him:

Wrong:

Y: “Hi boss! Could we sometimes have a talk about my salary?”

Right:

Y: The best thing you can do is not to ask at all. If your boss is in a

hurry, postpone it!

Here is the point:

If you see that your boss is in a hurry, don’t approach him with

questions regarding your raise, because:


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1. He/she has no time for it

2. You give him or her time to think about it

3. He/she might be thinking in this way: “I am in a big hurry and this

wizen hearted person wants to talk about a raise!”

Situation 3:

Wrong:

Y: “You know what boss? I think that you really know me by now and

you can see what I am capable of. Can you raise my salary from $2900 to

$3300? ”

B: 3300 dollars is a big amount of money, don’t you think?

Right:

Y: “You know what boss? I think that you really know me by now and

you can see what I am capable of. So I think I deserve a 400 dollar raise.”

B: (thinking)

“400 dollars is small amount … and I like this person…

Here is the point:

Do not negotiate about the amount of the new salary, but about the

quantity of the raise.

Situation 4:

Wrong:

Y: “You know boss my landlord has just raised the rent, everything gets

more expensive… can I get a raise?”

B: “The rent for our office has been raised, too and the fuel prices are

affecting us as well. We have problems, too.”

Right:


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Y: “As you can see boss, I am a trustworthy employee… I can produce

more than the average, because I have significant experience in this field.

What do you think?”

Here is the point:

If you do a bad job, you have no reasons to ask for a raise.

But if you do a great job, then you have! Ask for your raise confidently!

Situation 5:

Wrong:

Y: “You know boss, I already have a lot of experience, and I have

managed to develop some personal relationships with our customers and as

you can see our income has been increased, too. I think I deserve a 15% raise.”

B: “You are right, I will think about this and we will talk about this next

week.”

Y: “OK boss, thank you!”

Right:



you can see our income has been increased too. I think I deserve a 15% raise.”

B: “You are right, I will think about this and we will talk about this next

week.”

Y: “I am glad that you have the same opinion about this. May I ask you

what the things you want to think about are? I’m here now, let’s do it here!”

Situation 6:

Wrong:

Y: “You know boss, I work here for 3 years now, I do my job as

expected and I’m constantly trying to motivate my colleagues too. As you


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have seen, during the last month we have been overtime to serve our customers

properly.”

Good:

Y: “You know boss, I work here for 3 years now and I’m doing a great

job, do you agree?

B: “Yes.”

Y: “As you can see I always try to motivate my colleagues when we

have a lot of work… you can see it, too, right?”

B: “Yes, of course.”

Y: “As you have seen the last month was really hard for us, but we did

everything to satisfy our customers’ needs.”

B: “Yes, that’s right.”

Here is the point:

You have to get as many positive answers as possible. This way your

boss will not be able to say “No” as you will be asking for a raise.

Situation 7:

Wrong:



you can see our income has been increased, too. I think I deserve a 15% raise.”

B: “You are right, I will think about it.”

Y: “OK … thank you.”

Right:




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you can see our income has been increased, too. What do you think: could we

talk about a 15% or a 20% raise?”

B: “15% sounds more real to me. We will talk about it later.”

Here is the point:

You have to lead the conversation in such way, that your boss couldn’t

think about rejecting you or not, but about the amount of your raise.

Documents

Go for Your Raise