5 No fail steps to negotiate a raise & make your boss happy to give it to you

5 No Fail Steps to Negotiate a Raise & Make your Boss Happy to Give it to You.

Are you a great employee?  Do you work hard, add value to your company and believe that your salary should reflect your contributions?  Do you want a raise? The biggest block for most women is just working up the courage to ask their boss for a raise.

This can be particularly hard for women but the stats show that women who asked for a raise are 54% more likely to receive it than women who don't (Business Insider).  And if you are doing great work and supporting your company to meet its objectives why shouldn't you be compensated for it.  It's time for a mindset shift ladies!

If that doesn't convince you to go for it, consider this, a one-time $5000 increase to your salary can really change your entire life:
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Source: I will teach you to be rich.

And even if that didn't give you determination to ask for what you deserve consider this.  You as a women are making approximately 20 cents less for every dollar that your male colleague is making for doing the same job!!! If you are a women of color that number is even more frightening. In fact, let's look at this in the number of days it would take a women to work into the following year to make what her male colleague earned in the previous year.
 
"a typical full-time, year-round employed black female worker starting on January 1, 2018, would have finally earned on August 22, 2019, what a similarly employed white male worker would have made over the course of 2018 alone."

​Check out the full article here. 

So, what is the first step to negotiating a raise?

1.      Change your Mindset  
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Be honest with yourself.  Are you really doing a great job and meeting or over delivering on your mandates and supporting the company?  If the answer is yes, than you need to get over your limiting beliefs and make the decision to ask for the raise.
 
 2.      Do your homework. 

You will need to justify why it is that your employer should give you a raise. 

• Put together a list of all of the recent accomplishments and value that you have brought the company.  Make sure that you can quantify that value (Ex. Savings, new business, completed project X, awards, etc) so that you can show how your efforts have supported the company's bottom line.
• Ask yourself if the raise that you are planning to ask for is realistic.  Does it truly reflect the value that you are bringing to the company?
• Know your worth.  Understand what is the market paying for a job such as yours.  You can get a comprehensive personalized calculation by using this tool which you can bring with you to the negotiation as back up.
• As a great employee you want to demonstrate for yourself and for the company what you will contribute to their future.  With more money, comes more responsibility.  So take some time to identify some pain points that the company may be experiencing or the goals they have set for the coming quarter, or how you can improve your work and put together a plan as to how you can alleviate the issue and/or make an impact toward the goals.
• Now, make a brief plan/script outlining:
  • Your desire and enthusiasm to grow with in the company. A list of your accomplishments
  • The goal / problem that you are looking to support (This is important as you will want to confirm with your boss that this is indeed something important for the company that would add value)
  • Your plan to deliver additional value over and above what you are currently delivering (You will want confirmation from your boss that indeed if you were to be successful in implementing your plan, that it would add enough value to justify your salary expectations)
  • Ask your boss if there is anything that you could improve.
  • The timeline to implement your plan The desired target raise. (Note* This doesn't just have to be salary, in can include ~ Title, bonus, vacation days, flex time, etc ~ this can also be used in the negotiation as a give) and when you will expect compensation.

For more info on the preparation check out this article

Tip* When preparing your plan try the breifcase case proposal method to support you.  See video below:

 
3.      Set the Meeting 

Be clear and communicate with your boss.  Let them know that in a month's time (You will need some additional time to prepare) that you would like to have a meeting to discuss how you feel like you have been a top performer and would like to discuss compensation. Take this opportunity to ask your boss what you'll need to bring or prepare to make this a fruitful conversation. This is a great opportunity for him to outline some company issues so that you can add this to your plan to solve them.
 
Schedule the meeting.
 
4.       Practice. 
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I know that this may feel a little weird but it will pay off.  Get a friend or a family member and practice your script.  You will also need to expect that there will be a negotiation so anticipate some of their possible responses so that you can practice. 
 
Run through this as many times as it takes until you feel more comfortable with the script and what you are presenting and that you can deliver it confidently. 
 
For some more in depth examples or word for word scripts visit the I will make you rich website here.

5.      Ask for what you deserve. 

Have the meeting with your boss, fully knowing that you are completely prepared, you know worth and what you can bring additionally to the company, so now go get your raise. 
 
Note* Absolute worst case scenario ~ your boss says no to your proposal.  What do you do?  Tell them that you would like to understand why your proposal is not meeting their expectations and does not bring the value to justify what you are requesting. Ask them what it would take to do so.  This puts them in the position to define a quantifiable expectation.  Once this is clear, agree with them in advance the implementation timeline and confirm the salary.  Go out, implement and then claim your raise.  This is a no lose situation, you have shown enthusiasm and proactivity in your position and clearly laid out your intentions to grow within the company, you have set out the expectations and compensation with a timeline  and you will be rewarded for your efforts.
 
If you want some additional tools, tips and scenarios, check out this full article. 

Finally, You must have a listen to this podcast with Ramit Sethi and Tim Ferris starting at 11:43 where he runs through the exact word for word script to negotiate a raise that has been tested with tens of thousands of people, trust me, you want to hear this!!!!!

Check out the full podcast for a ton of other useful information that can only add value to your life. 
 
Want more?
 
Check out these books on the topic:
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• I will Teach you to be Rich - Ramit Sethi - Get it HERE. 
• The Art of Persuasion ~ Bob Burg - Get it HERE.
• Getting to Yes ~ Roger Fisher, William L. Ury and Bruce Patton - Get it HERE. 

 
Please do let me know if you have found this helpful and I would love to hear some real feedback from you ladies putting this into action and what results you achieved.  Go for it ladies!
 
Design YOUR Life ~ Be You. Be Authentic, Be Sharp

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​Sources: 

• Article ~ Business Insider. Women aren't paid less because they don't ask — it's because they're disliked when they do. By Rachel Gillett. September 30, 2016​​​​ https://www.businessinsider.com/asking-for-what-you-want-is-great-career-advice-if-youre-a-man-2016-9?r=DE&IR=T
• Graph, Video & Article ~ I will teach you to be rich. How to Negotiate a raise with ANY job (+ exact scripts). By Ramit Sethi. June 10, 2019. ​​​​ https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/salary-negotiation/
• Article ~ Business Insider. 7 charts that show the glaring gap between men and women’s salaries in the US. By Sonam Sheth, Shayanne Gal and Andy Kiersz. August 26, 2019.
  
  •  https://www.businessinsider.de/international/gender-wage-pay-gap-charts-2017-3/?r=US&IR=T
    
• Article & Salary Tool  ~ Glassdoor. How to ask for a raise. https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/guide/how-to-ask-for-a-raise/ and salary calculator tool ​https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/know-your-worth.htm​
• Subscribe to The Tim Ferriss Podcast  ~​ https://tim.blog/2016/06/15/how-creatives-should-negotiate/