Top 5 Salary Negotiation Tips

There’s a famous book entitled How to Make $1,000 a Minute. While that sounds like a “too good to be true” tutorial, it really isn’t. The book is about salary negotiation.

The fact of the matter is that when you haggle back and forth with an employer over salary, you can easily earn $1,000 a minute by just talking. That’s because salaries are usually negotiated in thousands of dollars.

Here are the top 5 salary negotiation tips that will help you earn $1,000 a minute or more.

1. Know What You’re Worth

Before you can begin the process of negotiating a good salary, you need to know what you’re worth. That’s important because you can expect an employer to pay at least that much.

Do some research to find out how much money people with your experience and background are earning right now. Keep in mind that you’ll need to keep that research local. If you live in an area with a low cost of living, you can’t expect to be paid the same amount of money as somebody with your skill set who lives in New York City, where the cost of living is sky high. That’s why it’s important to do salary comparison by city.

Once you know what you’re worth, you’ve got a good starting point for your negotiation.

2. Avoid Bringing up Salary First

You shouldn’t be the first one to bring up salary. You certainly shouldn’t even mention it during your initial interview, unless you’re specifically asked to do so.

Instead, let the employer name the salary first. The old adage is that the person who “goes first” when it comes to salary loses. That’s because the other party can always run it up. That works when you ask for a raise as well.

3. Ask for a Performance Bonus

If the employer tells you that he’d love to pay you more but he just can’t afford it right now, then negotiate performance-based pay instead. Ask for a bonus if you do really well. After all, if you’re contributing to the bottom line, you should enjoy additional rewards for going above and beyond the call of duty.

4. Negotiate Benefits

Remember, your compensation package consists of more than just the cash you take home with your paycheck. You’re presumably also getting benefits that include health insurance, life insurance, and vacation. If you and your prospective employer can’t settle on a cash figure, you can always consider negotiating additional vacation time, which has an intangible benefit because it gives you more time with your family.

5. Practice

Practice makes perfect. That’s just as true when it comes to negotiation as it is for just about anything else. If you want to become a great negotiator, practice at it with someone who’s already a skilled negotiator. Get some feedback on your performance so that you can improve the next time.

If you want to make $1,000 a minute, learn how to negotiate the best possible salary for your job. That takes a basic understanding of the negotiating process as well as some practice.