Have you been offered a job you’ve truly desired only to be disappointed with a low offer?  Your potential employer knows your current salary and generally feels that a 10% -15% pay increase is completely fair and will be acceptable to you, especially in this economic downturn. 

 

By Anissa Neubauer

Former District Sales Manager in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Sales

Founder of Kick Consulting.

www.kickconsulting.com

 

You on the other hand, are leaving your current position because you feel you should have been making at least that much money for the past year or so.  How do you make the negotiation process a win-win?  Let’s use this example.  Your current base salary is $60,000.  You feel you deserve $85,000.  The offer on the table is $70,000.

1.       First, I would thank them for the offer and reconfirm your desire to work for their organization.  Then I’d explain that you had expected a base salary of $85,000 based on your experience and proven sales success.

2.       I’d then say to the hiring manager, “If this is the only thing coming between us working together, I am confident that we can come up with something that will work for us both.  Would you mind if I ran some ideas by you on how we might work this out so that this is a win-win for everyone?

 

Some people recommend providing the hiring manager with your bottom dollar, but I wouldn’t do that.  I’ve been in this situation when interviewing for a District Manager position and I asked the VP if he had any wiggle room on the base salary and gave him suggestions on additional incentives that could be added to the package to offset the lower salary. By the way, we met in the middle on salary and I received a relocation package, signing bonus to cover my loss of stock and commission and a three month guarantee which overall netted me more income than the base salary I’d initially requested.  

 

 Also, as a hiring manager, I would not be offended that you ask to run some ideas by me.  I’d actually be intrigued and impressed that you were a good negotiator.  Of course, you might even consider pointing that out as one of the reasons you are being offered the sales position, tactfully, of course.  It isn’t always what you say or ask, but how you present yourself. 

Ok, you’ve put your price out there, but if the employer cannot meet your requests, where else can they bridge the gap?  I would offer the following suggestions:

If the hiring manager or HR manager pushes back on your $85,000 request, explain to them, that you understand that they may not be able to meet your expectation of an $85,000 salary, however you’d like to see if they could get a bit closer to your number and if there are other incentives that could help bridge the gap.  Ask if they could help with any of the following: 

1.       Relocation expenses (if there will be any)

2.       Signing bonus to cover lost commissions or stock awards from your current employer

3.       Three month commission guarantee

4.       Additional vacation

5.       Company stock

Another request you should consider is to ask to have your base salary increased after six months if your performance is exceeding their standards.  Six months is key because you should be eligible for a pay increase after one year and you want that to be based off your new salary.  Of course, find out upfront if any of these incentives are already in your offer before using them as negotiations tools.  

By Anissa Neubauer of www.kickconsulting.com   anissa@kickconsulting.com