The planning stage is over, and the big day is drawing near. It's time to consider the tactics that will result in a successful negotiation. Because preparation is so important, however, let's first review and summarize some important pro negotiation strategies and tactics.
To be considered successful, a salary negotiation should leave both parties feeling as though they have won something: you, a satisfactory raise; your supervisor, a contented, productive manager.
1. Preparation-the Key to Obtaining a Raise
Start with Yourself.
To get the raise you're seeking, you must first establish plans and objectives to improve the areas of your performance that have a direct bearing on company efficiency, revenues, and profit. A solid record of outstanding work may be all that's required, as well as proof of an improving quality of performance. You should document your accomplishments, making sure that your supervisor acknowledges them, before attempting to negotiate a raise. Make sure that you have studied salary standards and have kept an activity log of your performance. As stated previously, establish your salary range-your target raise and your bottom-line raise; the latter will prevent you from accepting a less-than-satisfactory raise in the heat of the moment. Consider the most difficult issues that are likely to arise, and prepare alternatives or supplements to salary requirements. Try predicting what objections your supervisor will raise and how you can overcome them.
2. The Structure of the Negotiation
Most salary negotiations involve an offer-and-counteroffer sequence, which obviously involves bargaining. Bargain well and your earning power will improve. Since we all have a desire to improve our lifestyles, we should use bargaining power all the time. Hence, all of us can gain by improving our negotiating skills.
Expect your supervisor to present an opening offer that is based on company salary administrative policies. Chances are the offer will be lower than what you consider acceptable. Therefore, you must be prepared to present the reasons you think you deserve a bigger raise. This counteroffer should be based on established objectives, such as an estimate of a reasonable range of salary increases and fringe benefits of comparable monetary value.
Although your initial position will probably be higher than your supervisor's, it should not be so high that it precludes reaching agreement on a salary acceptable to you. You should be prepared, however, to accept an offer that is less than the high side of your objective, such as a percentage of increase that falls within your established range of acceptance.
3. Examples of Negotiation Strategies and Tactics
Salary negotiation involves varied techniques that arc applied to enable the sessions to proceed amicably, without friction, so that an agreement satisfactory to both sides is readily reached. Experienced negotiators use a variety of means to accomplish their objectives. Knowing when to use a particular strategy requires a sense of timing. Negotiation techniques include both planned strategies and spontaneous or extemporaneous tactics.
Regardless of what transpires during the meeting, an atmosphere of mutual respect between the parties should be maintained at all times, especially if you and your supervisor work in a close relationship and expect to continue to do so over a long period.
Here are four commonly used strategies:
Combinations: To start, you may introduce simultaneously several positive factors in regard to your performance. In this way your supervisor may be forced to consider the broad picture. All points raised should be viewed as equally important. If your supervisor minimizes any of them at the time they are raised, you may wish to repeat some of them later.
Coverage: Some supervisors choose to avoid discussing details. They hope to conduct the meeting with as little time and effort as possible. However, you have a right to slow down the pace to pro-vide adequate time for presenting each meritorious factor separately. After all, you expended considerable effort in preparing for the meeting, and you don't want this to go for naught. Your reasons for getting the raise must be properly addressed. Some supervisors obviously prefer a broad coverage, because if each factor is discussed separately, the rationale for minimizing a raise may be refuted.
Statistics: Each party should be certain that any figures and statistics that are presented are valid. Here again, preparation pays off. For example, if one party argues that certain statistical trends are representative of the future for the occupation in question, the other party should be prepared to reply.
One Step at a Time: Using this effective strategy, you convincingly present one point after another until your objective is reached. (Essentially, this is the antithesis of coverage.) Each meritorious factor is addressed separately to emphasize your assets and value.
4. Closing Techniques
What do you do when you've tried applying salary negotiation techniques but have failed to reach even a satisfactory compromise? How about trying closing techniques? Many sales personnel have certainly found them to be effective.
Some people possess proficiency in applying both negotiating and closing techniques. If you are among these lucky ones, you are blessed with powerful tools, but you must use them cautiously. You must be tactful to avoid upsetting your supervisor and to prevent him or her from becoming disenchanted with a loyal and productive manager. In particular, you need to avoid the possibility of being discharged.
Closing techniques are usually associated with sales but may be considered to be related to negotiating techniques in that both result in either "acceptance" or "rejection." In closing, however, rejection, which may mean that you have not been convincing enough to support your claim, is final; whereas, in negotiating, rejection may occur until agreement or a compromise is reached. Regardless of the techniques employed, your supervisor is likely to agree to a particular raise only when convinced that it is both reasonable and justifiable.
To clarify the primary difference, we may define closing as a technique employed by a seller (or, in our case, the seeker of a raise), whereas negotiating is used jointly by both a seller (you) and a buyer (in our case, your supervisor). Commonality between the two is most prevalent when sessions are deadlocked. In such cases the negotiation tactics ordinarily employed may very well be supplemented by closing techniques.
Closing, like negotiating, is an art requiring knowledge and skill, and is developed primarily through experience. It takes skill to read "ready-to-buy" signs and to overcome objections, as well as dexterity in applying negotiating techniques. Also, as a seeker your mental attitude should always be positive; you should be persistent but remain calm, alert, and ready for any element of surprise. To a certain degree, the closing technique requires acting ability-when it is time to be cordial, you perform accordingly; when it is time to be firm and dynamic, you rise dramatically to the occasion. You must know when to apply the appropriate tactic. You must sense when to talk (to ask questions) and when to shut your mouth (especially when you've reached the end of the line-your preplanned limitations). Your approach must suggest self-confidence; conceal any fear of failure.
If your supervisor seems unimpressed by your presentation, you should not get discouraged but should think in terms of "I failed to make him or her understand." Dust yourself off and try again\ A common tactic is to use a positive "Yes, but . . ." approach. This leads the other party to think mistakenly that agreement has been reached and to relax his or her guard, offering you the opportunity to advance new arguments or emphasize old ones. Another tactic is to ask "Why?" in response to any item of disagreement. But make sure you keep quiet and listen to the answer!
Remember that the principle in handling objections is never to argue back. Simply reiterate: go over the same tracks, but use new arguments and clearer explanations. The temptation to retaliate in a hostile way is always present and becomes greater as the negotiation drags on. You may win a particular argument; but in so doing, you may also antagonize your supervisor so that an agreement is less likely to be achieved.
5. Compromise-the Key to Reaching Agreement
In most cases, agreements result from compromises. The negotiation process requires both parties to aim toward achieving a settlement, and a compromise may be the only means of reaching agreement. In approaching a compromise, each party should attempt to summarize the other's position, pointing out specific areas of difference and presenting facts or opinions that support each position.
Some Aspects of Compromise:
Commonly, each side establishes its "last" position before being willing to compromise. In the raise negotiation, two possible bases of agreement should be considered: a total raise now or progressive increases.
Two types of compromise are possible:
- Both sides feel a degree of satisfaction: an agreement has been reached for an acceptable "best" raise.
- One side is satisfied but not the other: because one party is stronger, an unbalanced compromise has been reached.
6. Mistakes in Dealing with Company Policies
As you gain experience and develop salary negotiating skills, you may observe many personnel mistakenly accepting misconceptions as fact. For example, employees may be led to believe that in large corporations salaries are established by policy and are not negotiable. Salary ranges may have been established to be competitive to similar positions in other companies and can be quite broad. The midpoint of the range is probably the salary awarded to the capable worker who has experience in his or her field. But the spread is most likely plus and minus 20 percent of that midpoint. Therefore, the company may have more money to negotiate than they want you to realize. Nevertheless, be careful and don't negotiate unless you understand fully the components of the compensation package and what your skills are worth on the market. By being stubborn, you may alienate your supervisor rather than succeed in extracting other benefits. Smaller companies may not have established salary policies but are willing to pay more for the more skilled worker.
Other mistakes may include:
- Failure to obtain a better starting salary, which in turn may limit raises in the future.
- Attempting to improve your odds of getting a job by accepting a lower starting salary. As mentioned, this can backfire down the road.
- Shying away from negotiating a raise by naively believing the company automatically recognizes good performance and provides raises in return.
