How to renegotiate your salary and actually get an outcome you deserve

We all want more money, and what better way to earn it than to add to your existing pay packet. After all, you’re already doing the work, so why not make sure you’re being paid your worth and maximize your ‘charge out rate’ per hour of productivity. 

We’ve worked with hundreds of women through our courses to teach them how to add more money to their pay packets - and we seen results! Women have added anywhere between $5,000 to $80,000 extra to their salaries through our methods. 

A warning: These strategies work

These proven strategies have been put to the test time and time again. We’ve used them as a blueprint in our coaching sessions with women in preparing them to renegotiate their salaries; and the results have astounded even us. Time and time again we’ve seen that with the right strategy, the right coaching and the right preparation — anything is possible. Our members have gone on to negotiate an additional $10,000, $20,000 and in one case $80,000 more.

You can get the full training inside the Elladex app - (download now if you don't already have it!) and in the meantime, here’s our top tips: 

The best way to earn more money is to ask

One of the best and easiest ways to earn more money is to ask for it. But, before we ask, we need to plan effectively and strategically before we jump the gun and end up sitting across from our manager and just blurting out “I deserve more money, gimme now!”

The best time to negotiate your salary is during the initial job interview for your new role, and unfortunately many people don’t take this opportunity. If you’re sitting there thinking, ‘Ahh yes, that’s me’ — take heart, you can still get the pay rise you deserve if you follow the strategies in the guide. If you’ve been busting your butt and have outgrown your current salary, the strategies in this guide will serve you whether you’re planning for a job interview or you’re a seasoned worker. We encourage you to take your time and go through each of the sections, because the sad truth is that your manager isn’t going to stop you one day to give you more money out of the goodness of their heart — you have to ask for it.

Let’s talk about SMART goals for a minute. This is a great way to aim our actions at our ultimate goal: a pay rise

• Specific — How much do you want?
• Measurable — What KPI’s can you show your manager to prove that you’re worth more money?
• Actionable — The necessary steps to get your pay rise: upskilling, booking your negotiation, building your case
• Relevant — Using your personal brand in the company to help you stand out from the crowd
• Timely — When are you going to ask for your pay rise? Date, time, location, booking confirmation

Have a plan, maximise and measure your contributions, book the meeting, show the evidence, and specifically ask for what you want.

“Every battle is won before it is ever fought” — Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Building a case for yourself

We’re going to equip you with the tools to build a case for your meeting, and make it a no-brainer for your manager to give you a pay rise. Too many times people naively ask for a pay rise and get backed into a corner when their manager questions them about why they deserve it. We’re going to make sure that you avoid this trap and that you have the evidence and the confidence to back up your claim.

If you’re  getting paid around the average earnings, then it's time to build a case about the immense value that you bring to your role. You’ll want to set a goal for the next 3 to 6 months to ‘wow’ your manager and showcase some of your best work. All the while, keep building your case with specific examples and metrics of how you’ve exceeded expectations, and performed above and beyond the expectations of your role.

Measure your contributions

Senior leaders respond better to clearly identified metrics. It’s how businesses measure productivity and ROI across the board. Think about KPI’s, earnings, scoreboards, click-through-rates — these are the ingrained metrics of corporate productivity. Get as many favourable metrics as you can from your task manager system. If you can’t access these metrics, make your own metric system like the one below:

Are you putting in work after hours, if so, how many hours?

Do you know how much money your role makes the company?

Rate your proficiency in relation to team benchmarks

In what ways do you aid and help your colleagues?

How do you go above and beyond your job description?

What are the unique skills that you bring to the role?

What is your vision for your role and what are your ideas to innovate it?

These are just some of the metrics that you can provide your manager. Try and provide a numerical value to drive home the impact your contributions are making.

Build bridges and fill the gaps

You have to look at what you’re doing in your current role and what you need to do in order to become more valuable to your company. Are there areas where you could upskill, what are the top performers in your field doing that set them apart, what do you need to do in order to gain a competitive edge? These can be simple things like joining ‘Toastmasters’ to improve your communication skills. This sets you apart because you’ll be the employee who can speak to the head and the heart of your company’s clients. You could invest your time in a project management seminar, where you’ll be equipped with industry best practices that will make you stand out in your team.

At Elladex we are big believers and advocates of getting a mentor. Sadly, many workplaces don’t provide mentorship to their staff. This is a huge shortcoming in the modern workplace, because it leaves ambitious and hungry employees roaming around in the dark, until they get disheartened and disenchanted with the idea of growing in their career.

There are no small skills when it comes to personal development. Everything adds up. That’s why we believe that you should start implementing these tools and tips right now. You don’t need to wait until you feel like you deserve more money or that you’ve outgrown your current pay package. Even entry level employees should set a goal to increase their pay in the next 6 to 12 months, and the best part is that if they follow this process — they will.

If you’re stuck for finding a mentor, download the Elladex app and connect with a mentor instantly. 

What you’re willing and unwilling to take

Once you find out what you’re worth, it’s not inspiring to think about what compromises you’re willing to make. When you speak with your manager, you’re having a conversation, you’re negotiating — not demanding and you need to pre-plan your landing spot for compromises so you don’t give too much or too little.. It’s worthwhile to note all the pros that you have in your organization that are beyond monetary value.

For example: flexible working hours, great corporate culture, you love the kinds of projects you’re doing, your manager is very supportive.

So, if you want to negotiate your salary at $100,000, and your manager can only give you $90,000; it may be worth compromising and taking that offer because you have so many fringe benefits as an employee of that specific company.

Also, make a note of your walk-away number. This is the figure that you will not go below. Don’t get low-balled — decide before the meeting what this number will be. DON’T say this number out loud at the meeting! But, have a mental line in the sand that you will not under. So, if you’re asking for $100,000, and your manager says that they can’t give you that right now, but can offer you $60,000; you are well within your rights to say: “I don’t think that’s fair.” You’ve already taken stock of your value to the company, and the metrics provide evidence to support the claim that you deserve more.

3 things to remember before meeting your manager

This is where the rubber meets the road. It’s the big day and you’re nervous, but expectant. Here are 4 important things to consider BEFORE you step into that meeting with your manager.

1. Set the scene

Don’t ambush your manager, tell them explicitly that you want to have a meeting about your pay. Avoiding saying that you’re going to quit or that you have other offers lined up if you don’t get the pay rise that you’re asking for. Provide the evidence, and let your manager know that they can respond to it, object to it, and even say no. Experts say that it’s usually appropriate to ask for a 10% to 20% pay increase. But, if you find that other companies are paying much more for your role, it’s ok to ask for the industry standard amount.

2. Anchoring your desired salary

Anchoring is a negotiation tactic that requires you to name the amount you’d like to be paid, first. This allows you to define the appropriate threshold of your deserved pay rise, and it frames your manager’s expectations right from the beginning. It is imperative that you get in first and ‘set the anchor’, because if your manager gets in first and low-balls you, it’s really hard to get up to your desired amount from there. Look, it can be really challenging and uncomfortable to be so overt about your pay increase — but, this tactic is effective and it will set up the meeting to be much more productive, in your favour.

3. Get feedback and leave the conversation open

Now that you have a face-to-face with your manager, it’s a great opportunity to get their feedback on areas that you can improve in. Take a deep breath and ask them for their input. This shows that you’re serious about your work and personal growth. If it’s clear that your manager isn’t going to give you the pay rise that you’re asking for, don’t get upset. Simply ask them what you would need to do in order to receive your desired pay. Take notes! And then, right when they’re finished giving you feedback, say “Ok, I really appreciate that, and I’m going to take your feedback seriously. I’m going to work at your points, and I think that I’ll be able to have them sorted in the next 3 to 6 months. Would it be ok to book another meeting to discuss my salary after this time period?”

Again, this shows tact, initiative, an attitude of excellence and resilience. If you don’t walk out of that meeting with a pay rise, you’ll definitely increase your chances of getting one in the near future.