Tenth Commandment: Honor Thy Wealth and Prosperity
When shopping for a house once, I was told by a realtor that if
I wasn’t at least a little embarrassed at how low my offer
was, it was not low enough. Similarly, negotiating a salary or
raise, if you’re not just a little red-faced at your desired
amount [Ideal Number], you’re not thinking high enough.
It has to pass the "laugh test," however. If it's ridiculously
too high, they'll just laugh. Likewise an employer’s
offer must pass yours, lest you laugh because it's ridiculously
low.
Once, my daughter asked for my negotiation advice and
(surprisingly) followed it. She had been a star document organizer
in a nation-wide class action lawsuit with 800 trials pending and
mountains of e-paperwork to track, file, retrieve at a
moment’s notice. She lived in Manhattan on her $35,000
[= $17.50/hour] annual salary. After she left the firm, for reasons
other than salary, they ran into trouble. They called her back and
asked her to consult with the remaining paralegals to show them her
organization and retrieval system.
My daughter and I figured that $150/hour would be fair. Once they
had agreed on her consulting role, timing, independent contractor
status, etc., her old boss said, “I suppose we can start at
the usual $35,000.”
She laughed.
They flunked her laugh test.
When you present your number, don’t share a small number,
share your Ideal. Your “Wow!” number. (Quick reminder,
though. Remember Commandment 1. Wait until you’re sure
they’re ready to make you an offer.) Your ideal number should
make you blush a little (or it’s not high enough).
Make sure, of course, it’s bolstered by a solid
value-proposition. (See Commandment 5.) Let them know the
rationale behind the numbers and you can soften the economic blow
by saying, “This may be just a bit out of reach, but I think
I owe it to you to tell you what would really excite
me. It’s ________.”
Think about it. Why would you start negotiations any
lower?
There’s a curious phenomenon. In negotiations, the first
number you put out will act as a magnet and pull their number
toward it: the higher your number [assuming it passes the laugh
test], the stronger the magnet.
The only worry in going first and going high is that you might
catch your employer off guard and the Ideal number has such strong
magnetism that s/he agrees to overpay you. However, if you
feel bad/guilty for taking advantage of his/her poor negotiation
skills, you can always give it back! You can always say, “You
know, I think I was a little too demanding in the negotiations and
while I expect to be your star employee, I want you to feel good
about my earnings. Why don’t we take 10% of my earnings and
give them to a charity we can both agree on?”
To the best of my knowledge, no one’s ever done that, but
just in case you’re too timid or embarrassed to go for the
gold, remembering this might help you engage that last little bit
of motivation to “Honor Thy Wealth and Prosperity.”
