How To Negotiate a Higher Starting Salary

There are two important steps to negotiating a higher salary; the first is trying to place yourself in as strong a bargaining position as possible and the second is how you actually conduct the negotiation.

So what is the significance of a bargaining position?

Take the example of sports stars who, with the help of their agents, regularly manage to secure lucrative contracts with new teams. They manage to achieve these lucrative contracts because the sports star has a strong bargaining position, which means they can show the following:

1. that they are great at what they do;
2. that they are in form;
3. that they will make a difference to the team they join;
4. and finally, that they have other options.

In order to negotiate a higher salary, you too, as an aspiring employee, must develop a strong bargaining position. To do this, you must be able to demonstrate that you are a star performer. This should be done by highlighting your most relevant achievements in SMART format. By SMART, we mean specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bounded. If you are a sales person, this would be that you consistently exceeded sales quotas (give numerical values) on a yearly basis.

Ideally, these achievements will have occurred within the last business year, which shows you are in ‘form’.

Further, you must demonstrate how you can make a difference to the organization; to do this you may need to commit to very challenging quotas that will grow the employer’s yearly revenues.

Finally, you can solidify your bargaining positioning by demonstrating in a non-threatening way that you are prepared to walk away, if you do not receive the right offer.  Tread with caution as you do not wish to come across as arrogant or over expectant as this is not a good negotiating tactic and could antagonise your employer and increase their resistance to your proposals. Therefore, the best way to demonstrate that you are prepared to walk away if your salary expectations are not met, is to have other options. These options may be remaining with your existing employer, or another offer of employment. You also need to position this well by explaining that although this new employer is your preferred option, you may have to consider other options if your needs cannot be met.

If you believe that you have a strong bargaining positioning then it may be worth your while trying to negotiate a higher salary as you have a good chance of success.

So how should you actually go about negotiating the higher salary?

The first piece of advice is to research the market and find the going rate for your role. This will enable you to make a realistic assessment of your market worth and give you confidence and credibility during your negotiations.

At some stage in the interview process you will be asked what your salary expectations are. The most tactical way to answer this is that you would ‘like to improve on your current remuneration’, which is an understandable motivation. You will most likely be prompted to provide details of your current remuneration. Be sure to include all the perks and benefits so you are starting your negotiation from the highest remuneration level possible.

When you receive your offer, if you find it is below your expectations, it is time to clearly build your business case. This should be prepared in the form of a letter which can be e-mailed or read from. In this document, you should illustrate your bargaining position, focusing on the details mentioned above in the bargaining position section. You should detail out your remuneration package and you should also provide the salary evidence which shows your market value. You should detail out the minimum remuneration that you would need for you to leave your current role.

Once you have prepared this letter, you can either e-mail it or call and discuss it face to face using the letter as a guide. It is hard to say which is best, but our advice would be to give them a courtesy call and ask them which approach they would prefer.

In conclusion, before entering negotiations for a higher salary, we suggest you clearly establish your bargaining position, value proposition and current market worth. This will form the basis of your case for a higher starting salary. It will not guarantee success, but following this approach is likely to increase your chances of getting the salary you want. Good Luck!