HOW DO I GET THE TOP DOLLAR I AM WORTH? SALARY NEGOTIATION TRAINING TIPS

By Jim Camp

You just spent six months getting the interview you worked so hard for. You have struggled and you have hurried through airports, in and out of taxi cabs and subways, and now here you are. You have arrived! You don't want this opportunity; you "need" this opportunity. You know the competition is heavy. You know the competition "needs" this job even more than you, if that is possible. Now the question you ask yourself is, how do I get the top dollar I am worth? How do I make this happen? You have the education, you have the credentials, you have the experience. What do you do? If you can't train with negotiation training Coach Jim Camp, author of No: The Only System of Negotiation You Need For Work and Home, and his group of negotiation training coaches, you can take his negotiation training tips and run with them.

Tip: You must overcome the need for the deal! How do you overcome all the terrible need you have built up without our negotiation training and coaching? First you must realize if you demonstrate "need," it will destroy any opportunity you have to even get an interview, let alone get a great opportunity with excellent salary and benefits. You must learn to do everything you must to not be needy. Needy people talk too much and too often. Needy people talk excitedly and fast. Needy people take the first negotiation deal they are offered. You must not do that.

Example:
Interviewer: Ms Smith, we would like you here tomorrow at 1:00pm.
Ms Smith: Gee, I'm so sorry; I have another appointment for that time. What other times do you have?

Remember: no need, just want.

Tip: Start taking away the need right away with information. Where is this opportunity located? What is the cost of living? Boise, Idaho is different than New York City. Leave no stone unturned. Web sites can give you vast amounts of information about cost of living. Analyze what you could be getting into. If you are going to San Diego, know what it costs. Know what you're getting into if you go there to live and work. Have it all written down. In our training system of negotiation, we call this critical negotiation research.

Tip: You have to know where the level of money comes from. How do companies decide what to pay? They hire consulting firms and look at pay surveys or they compare notes within the HR world. Again, do your critical negotiation research. Use the web and other sources to dig out what your position is normally paid. The more of this you have, the better for your preparation.

Tip: You have to learn to protect your precious information. What ever you do, don't spill your beans in the lobby. Don't think your data will entice them; it won't. Instead, gather theirs, and keep yours to yourself. Example: don't give them salary information in a conversation. If you do and they see it as low, they might not see you as valuable. If you place your salary in midstream, you may appear average. Too high, they can see you as too expensive. We call this spilling of facts; although you think it is the truth, it is the fuel to creating objections. Remember, your job early on is to gain the information to get an interview. Their world is your only focus, not your world.

Tip: The same goes for written information. When you start putting things in writing like resumes, don't spill data but please create vision. Keep the facts to yourself. Example: Your grade point is not important, but graduation with honors is. Live with the motto that less is more. If you're being asked to fill out an application, hold the data. If the application asks you what "salary," give a no risk answer like "to be negotiated" or "to be determined." Remember, keep your beans to yourself as long as you can.

Tip: There is a clear reason and only one reason they will pay you what you request. What will get you the very highest dollar? The answer is simple, their vision of you and the vision of the solutions to their problems that you bring to the negotiation table. Once you are in the negotiation you must help them develop a vision of you that allows them to see what you can do for them. How do you do that? You spend all of your time in their world understanding the challenges they see, the problems they see, the solutions they require for a successful hire.

Tip: Read negotiation training book No: The Only System of Negotiation You Need For Work and Home. Why? That is a great question. What system of negotiation training do you have in place to assure your success through the most difficult negotiations? That is a reverse, and you will learn how to reverse and all that goes with it in the negotiation training book to help you create the vision with your behavior.

Tip: So now you have their vision, what do you do? How do you present yourself and your abilities? The most important thing you can do in this area is to pay close attention to the challenges and responsibilities they point out to you. Be sure to present to those challenges different examples of experiences of your handling them in your career. The key is to tie your abilities and your experiences to the solution of their vision. Don't be afraid to give specific examples of challenges you faced and the solutions you provided. Special assignments that fit their vision should be explained and discussed. The more examples you can provide, the better.

Tip: How to open the salary negotiation? Don't! Let them open it with a complete package offer. Once you have the package, you can then look at the entire proposal and begin to evaluate and begin negotiations.

Tip: Remember the first negotiation training tip, no need. You've gone all the way through this, and here you are. You have a great offer. Slow down, think it over, then come back with a request for more money, vacation, retirement contribution and holidays. Start negotiating, and please don't jump on the negotiation agreement. The better job you do in this negotiation, the better the opportunity will unfold. They want someone they can respect and see as effective and capable, and that is you slowed down with no need. Don't be afraid to tell them how much you appreciate their negotiation offer, but, it is not satisfactory in a few areas, can we discuss them?

Tip: Never appear to threaten or posture with another offer or a take it or leave it stance. Continue to negotiate with no need. Use that calm slow voice. State negotiation problems clearly and don't be afraid to ask for what you want to solve those problems. The more effective you appear at discussing the problem as you see it, the better. Just ask in a want mode, not need mode.

Tip: No, I am not crazy. This is a great time to negotiate your first raise. How, you ask? It is the perfect time to negotiate what will happen when you surpass their expectations and objectives for your position. How will that be handled? What is the process for evaluation and promotion? You should get that in place now while you can.

Jim Camp's Decision-Based Negotiation™ training has been used successfully by over 100,000 people in business transactions totaling over $100 billion. Visit his negotiation training website at http://www.startwithno.com.

Want to reprint this negotiation training article? Call Jim Camp at 614-764-0213 or email him at jcamp@startwithno.com to find out how.