How to Get the Raise You Really Want!
This is a time of year when many of us are taking stock of our professional lives. It is also quite common for organizations to be conducting performance and salary reviews. Some employees will be disappointed with the results. A few will become righteously angry and leave. Others will put up with the results as they become less engaged.
On the other hand, you can try a different approach, one that our clients have used with especially good outcomes. Years ago, the Xerox Sales Institute researched the psychology of selling. Their psychologists and behavioral scientists identified the humans are capable of thinking about something other than themselves for a maximum of 15 seconds. That insight turned pitch-selling on its head. At the time, I designed a sales training for my employer that produced incredible results. Instead of making a pitch, we asked questions designed to help the prospects to define their needs and expectations. The sales team’s results skyrocketed. The selling experience became far more civilized and effective.
How can we apply these principles to asking for a raise?
Instead of waiting for the conversation to take place, ask your boss for a meeting. Be positive and gracious. Tell him or her that you love the work and the organization. Also, make it clear that you want to create more value for the company. And, you want to make more money. What can you do, what can you contribute that would justify the amount?
This approach creates an entirely different and positive perception. It also gently places the manager in the position of revealing much about your future development and your aspirations. Businesses are about making and saving money. Non-profit organizations are about raising and saving money. Ask what kind of revenue generation would make you worthy of the income you want? What can you do to improve productivity or lower costs? How can you help your manager become more valuable to the organization?
Usually, the exercise will lead to a positive outcome. In some cases, a manager has no control to step outside of a rote compensation policy. Ideally, your approach will be music to their ears. Throughout the conversation avoid any sense of entitlement, frustration, or anger. Simply remain focused on an above-and-beyond willingness to contribute more. Conducting conversations such as this will set you apart from the others. And, when you deliver on the new commitment, you will also have grown in new and unexpected ways.
Let’s shift this concept to an employer. What would happen to the betterment of your organization if you published the above-and-beyond contributions that could lead to meaningful raises?
Happy Holidays & Happy New Year
Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.
(C) Copyright, 2017, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)
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