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
www.GoForYourRaise.com
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.
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 dont 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 dont 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
3
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 dont 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

28
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 its 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

4
8.
If you dont 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.
Ill 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
5
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
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.
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!
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 days 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? Dont worry if you dont 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.
9
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: dont hold yourself back! And
please dont forget to write me about your successes and experiences.
10
Chapter 2: Why is it that most people dont 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 dont skip this part!
Its 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 dont know whether you deserve it?
Are you afraid of rejection?
You dont dare to ask for the raise because you are not sure about the
amount you should get?
or maybe you dont 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
11
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 dont deserve a raise
I have already mentioned it before: this material wont 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!
12
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 wasnt
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 dont want to buy
it. Similarly, you cannot get a raise if your boss doesnt 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 cant just be two
days long. It is a process with specific steps and I recommend that you prepare
yourself properly. Dont let things happen by chance!
Lets see those necessary steps:
13
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 peoples 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.
Lets 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
14
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, dont 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 wasnt 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.
15
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 doesnt 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. Dont be surprised if he/she isnt 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.
16
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, doesnt it?
I insist on repeating it to you, because its 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.
17
7. Evaluate you results
It is most unlikely that you wont 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 dont 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 lets get into it!
18
Chapter 4: For what do you get paid?

Im 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 companys 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.
19
What do you do exactly? What is your job? Take a look at it from the
employers point of view. What does and what doesnt 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 wont even have to ask for it.
20
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 dont 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.
21
Arriving on time to your workplace and doing your job as you are told
are very important arguments, but dont 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 isnt just about money: it means responsibility, compliment

and appreciation as well. These arent 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 doesnt 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.
22
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 its time to make a new
agreement.
You went to a job interview.
Reasons related to the labor market.
1. Inflation
I wont 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.
23
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
Its not what you think. Its 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 wifes 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.
24
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 colleagues 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 dont 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
its 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? Whats 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 its 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 dont 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 dont have to wait too long
to be served, the environment is clean, the food is good and waiter behaves
appropriately.
26
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. Thats 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.
Lets 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.
27
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 dont 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, dont you?)
We have achieved our goal, havent we? I have something to do with it,
dont I? Then lets 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?
Its 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.)
29
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.
Dont 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;
its 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 its too late
It doesnt 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
doesnt 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:
32
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. Isnt 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.
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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, dont 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 isnt 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:
34
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 doesnt 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 wouldnt 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 Gods 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, well talk about this later.) and you can
35
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 dont 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, dont 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 didnt ask for more
-
if you ask too much and you dont get it then its 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 1015 % 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.
37
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 isnt 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 halfvictory, 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 doesnt 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.
38
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 didnt 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).
39
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

40
-
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. Dont 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 its a suit, it should be ironed. Tidy up your
working area it doesnt matter if it is a car, an office desk or a workshop
try keeping everything organized, exceeding your employers 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.
Dont say that you are pleased with your life and your job, this might
start a rumor that you dont even need a raise.
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3. How to preheat
You can easily express your interests and stance regarding your job.
I do not believe that you havent 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.
42
He/she may say that Its a good idea, we will be thinking about it. or
I have been thinking about it as well. Actually, it doesnt 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
Dont 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.
43
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 companys 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.
44
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 wont 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
45
person, he/she had some interesting proposals last time I wonder if he/she
has other good ideas.
Do you see where Im 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 wont 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 (its 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?

46
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.
47
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 lets take a look at this in the Negotiation chapter.
48
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
youre 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.
49
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.
Lets 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 dont 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.
50
You did your job and you have to feel that you deserve a raise. You
dont 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 dont have enough
money to finance your childrens education are not relevant for your raise. A
raise negotiation ought to be about ones 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, its 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. Its not
worth to live humiliated for the money of no account.
7. Ill have to think about it
At a certain point of the negotiation your boss sighs and says:
Ok, Ill 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 dont want to look pushy, but may I ask you
what you would like to think about?
51
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: Im 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:
- Im 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.
52
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 doesnt 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 dont 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, dont 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. Dont look dirty or messed up, it will enormously lower your chances.
53
But do not look too fancy, because thats 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.
Whats 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.
54
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 wont 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 whats
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 wont give you the raise.
Im 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!
55
Chapter 12: Plan B

It may turn out during the negotiation that your company doesnt
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 youre 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 doesnt always mean money if you need no more to spend
money on certain things, thats also a raise.
Your salary is money the raise can be just money. This is a very
common false belief. Your salary doesnt have to be money and your raise
doesnt 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.
56
Now its time for you to come up with plan B.
Ok boss, I understand. Lets 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 dont 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?
57
Chapter 13: In case of rejection

Well this isnt 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.
58
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.
59
Chapter 14: After a positive answer

Yes! Im a good employee, I prepared myself carefully, all went
according to the plan and I have the raise!
What should I do now?
Its 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 dont let your boss feel bad after the negotiation.
Be discreet but dont be indifferent or neutral thank it to your boss.
60
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 doesnt 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.
61
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 doesnt 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?
62
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 chiefs place and he wont 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.
63
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 doesnt want to be promoted.
Well, in this case it is recommended to think about changing your
employer.
64
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.
you can.
Use the techniques from Negotiations chapter! Use as many as
10. Dont 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.
65
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?

66
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.
67
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 companys culture requires you to ask for appointments, NEVER
tell your boss the reason why you are asking for the appointment. Dont 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, dont approach him with
questions regarding your raise, because:
68
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, dont 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:
69
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? Im here now, lets do it here!
Situation 6:
Wrong:
Y: You know boss, I work here for 3 years now, I do my job as
expected and Im constantly trying to motivate my colleagues too. As you
70
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 Im 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, thats 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:
71
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 couldnt
think about rejecting you or not, but about the amount of your raise.
72

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When your company is getting good results at the yearly evaluation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not On the fly ................................................................................... 34

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you dont feel so ............................................................................... 36

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to preheat ................................................................................. 42

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

Actions numbers plans stance results....................................... 43

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ill have to think about it .................................................................. 51

The power of the Yes word .............................................................. 52

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

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

Can you even skip the little chief? .................................................... 62

If the situation requires, quit your job .............................................. 64

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

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

Chapter 1: What will you get?

Chapter 2: Why is it that most people dont get a raise?

Chapter 3: The logic behind the approved pay raise