"O.K."
Bam! Those two letters just cost you plenty!
Can you tell how much they cost you? Choose one:
Those two letters...
A. flushed your new $1000 stereo system down
the toilet;
B. ripped off your $3000 Pentium
132MHz/2-gig computer system;
C. canceled your reservations for a $5000
two-week dream trip to an exotic location;
D. burned the blueprints for the $10,000
addition to your house;
E. yanked your kid out of college because
you were $25K short.
How could those two letters be so powerful? Easy--"O.K."
is what most people say in response to a salary offer. They mean
"I'll accept what you've just offered, thank you."
Depending on where your salary is to begin with, you could
lose A, B, C, D, or E. But you could also keep it, and
more besides, if you learn even one small negotiating technique:
change the "OK" to a "Hmmm," and watch what
happens.
If you're at minimum wage, and the employer says, "$4.65
an hour," an "OK" will freeze it right there. But
a "Hmmm" response could increase it, and just 50 cents
an hour more will earn you $1000 extra in a year of 40-hour
weeks. That's easily a fine new stereo system--or a year's car
insurance--or a month's rent on a great apartment.
The same goes for all other levels, too. A simple
"Hmmm" instead of "OK" can change a $25,000
salary into $28,000 and finance your new computer system.
$45,000 can be pushed to $50,000, affording you that much-needed
two-week vacation.
The "Hmmm" response can drop another ten grand in
the bank for high-level executives, and senior-level execs can
buy a $25K freshman year for a daughter or son by swallowing the
"OK."
Anybody can manage that swallow, so anybody can negotiate a
better salary. Sometimes hourly-wage earners think "Salary
negotiation is for the big shots."
Not true. In fact, it's easier to negotiate more at
the hourly-wage level than practically anywhere else.
Why? Perspective! An extra $.50, $1, or even a $3-5 an hour
increase seldom exceeds a company's phone bill! From your
perspective it's a ten- to fifty-percent raise. From their
perspective, an extra fifty cents an hour costs them only as
much as an extra hour of long-distance calls a week--something
most businesses do without a second thought.
Don't worry that the employer will change his or her mind
about hiring you just because you ask for more. If you've
interviewed well (and you must have done that or you wouldn't be
getting an offer!), you're the front runner already. Choosing
the second best or going through the whole
recruiting-interviewing-hiring process again will cost a company
much more than $1,000 - $5,000 anyway in the long run. Odds are,
you'll get that little extra, and the employer will still
consider it a good bargain to avoid that hassle.
And what's the worst that happens if you don't?
Your new boss will know that you believe you're worth more and
treat you better.
Besides, you probably aren't even pushing employers higher
than they expected to go anyway. Good managers always start low
to give themselves negotiating room. They might even really want
to give you more, but if you say, "OK," you tie their
hands! There is no gracious way for them to raise the offer.
Changing "OK" to "Hmmm" is rule number
three of the five salary-making rules contained in the book Negotiating
Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute.
As stated in the book, rule three is "When you hear the
figure or range, repeat the figure or top of the range, and then
be quiet."
This "contemplative" first response to an offer can
be called a "flinch." Even if you're so excited about
the offer that you're ready to dance a jig, make your first
response a flinch!
How do you carry off an effective flinch? First, make sure
you repeat the figure they give you before going into the
"contemplative" routine. (That way the interviewer
knows you haven't fallen asleep or tuned him out!) Then, you say
something like, "Hmmm," or, "$X/hour? Hmmm. Isn't
that a little low?" Or, "$X/hour. Hmm, is that the
best you can do?"
Paradoxically, when you do this, you don't just get
more money from your potential employer; you make him or her
feel better about it, too!
How's that possible?
Well, say you're selling a car. Mr. Buyer asks, "How
much do you want for the car?" You say, "$8,500."
If he says "Sold!" right away, how do you feel? What's
your first thought? Right! You think, "Phooey! He agreed
too quickly. I was too low. I could have gotten more!"
Now notice what happens if he flinches and says, "Hmmm,
is that the best you can do?" You say, "Yes. I have
done my research; that's a good deal on this car; its the best I
can do." By the time you close the deal, you still get
$8,500, but you also get the inner satisfaction of winning in
the negotiations by sticking to your price.
But the chances are, your future employer won't come back
with a "Yes, I've done my research," etc. Instead,
he'll offer a bit extra to sweeten the pot--he's got room to
give a little, remember?--and you'll both come out ahead. You,
with more cash in hand; the employer, with a heightened respect
for you.
While it's true, then, that "Anybody can
negotiate salary," it's more true to say, "Everyone
should negotiate salary." No matter what your
level, there's easy money to be made by changing "OK"
to "Hmmm." Whether you're a hamburger flipper, or a
shift supervisor of burger flippers, or an executive negotiating
a regional marketing position for a burger-flipping chain, don't
say "OK"; say, "Hmmm."
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
P.S. What you've just read focuses only on rule
three. To get the absolutely best shot at winning in
your negotiations, be sure to snag a copy of Negotiating
Salary: How To Make $1000 a Minute from your
bookstore so you can learn all FIVE rules: When to discuss
salary, how to research your market value, how to add bennies
and perks, getting it in writing, etc. (If your bookstore has
trouble getting it, you can get order information via e-mail
from cashoutnow@aol.com).
For now, remember, just saying "Hmmm" instead of
"OK" could boost your money 10% right off the bat.