7 Great Opportunities to Negotiate a Raise with Your Employer

Whether in business or social life, it is inevitable that everyone has to negotiate. However, to negotiate successfully, timing is very crucial to the outcome. What ordinarily you may have been able to get easily, if your timing is poor, you could lose it. In any employment, keen observation and a quick decision on when to act, most times makes the difference between success and failure. For this reason, one person may succeed to get something out of a boss while some other person may fail woefully in similar attempt. The key is timing. It is of utmost importance to know when to take the opportunity to negotiate with your employer either for a raise or for some other concessions. The following opportunities come in very handy if you want to successfully negotiate a raise with your employer.

01. When your employer is in a very good mood. All humans have mood changes from time to time. Some persons experience these changes more frequently than others depending on individual differences. If you are able to time your employer very well, you can always seize the opportunity to initiate the matter of a raise with her when she is in a very good mood. At such times, your chances of success could be very good.

02. When you have just completed a major project successfully. As an employee, any time you are able to deliver to expectations on your job, it makes your employer happy. Such times usually present a very good opportunity to negotiate a raise.

03. When company reports indicate that the company’s earnings are up. Most employers are always in upbeat moods when their company’s earnings are up. Such periods are usually good opportunities for smart employees to negotiate a raise.

04. When you have just acquired a new training or skill useful to the company. With a new skill or training in your kitty, your value to your company usually increases. That is a very good opportunity to negotiate a raise. A good employer will at such times accede to a raise if she wants to retain you. If not, she knows she could lose your services to rival employers. 

05. When you have just brought in a very good and profitable business for the company. Only very valuable employees bring good businesses to their companies. If you are able to do that, it will make your employer happy. Negotiating a raise with her at that moment could earn you a very sympathetic and favorable hearing.

06. When your employer’s confidence in you is at the highest. Many employers do have plenty of confidence in employees who always deliver on promise. Any time you are able to deliver successfully on some valuable projects that earn you the commendation of your employer, such times are okay to negotiate a raise.

07. When you have just made a significant amount of money for your company. The bottom-line in any business is to make money. Employees who are good at helping their companies to make money are very valuable employees. If you are able to make a significant amount of money for your company and your employer acknowledges it, the time is conducive to negotiate a raise.

Many employers know that no employee wants to earn a fixed salary in perpetuity. Employees who are capable of making themselves extremely valuable to their employment and are able to time their moves very well usually get raises from their employers if they ask. With keen observation and action taken when the time is ripe and proper, more often than not, you can always succeed to negotiate a raise with your employer. That is what many smart employees know which enables them to get a raise from their employers anytime they ask for it.

4 Smart Ways to Negotiate With a Cash-Strapped Buyer

When you start a business whether small or big, you can not run it successfully without dealing with people. That involves negotiations all the way. Most entrepreneurs are master negotiators. That is one quality everyone needs to survive in any business environment. That is because to remain in business, you got to regularly negotiate with suppliers, employees, customers, service providers, government regulators and sundry other people. These are people you must as a matter of course deal with on daily basis. When the persons you are negotiating with are cash-strapped or pretend to be cash-strapped as many people usually do, the following strategies come in very handy if you seriously want to get something out of the negotiations.

01. Emphasize to them the benefits of your product or service. This strategy is rather obvious. The more you are able to get others to see how much benefit your product or service can provide for them, the better your chances of getting them to deal even if they are cash-strapped. When the “pull” to get the product or service is strong enough, not having money becomes less important. Some people may even go to borrow money to make payments when they are sufficiently worked-up to have the product or service.  

02. Find out how much they can afford. By doing this, you are presenting a picture of genuine willingness to help. That helps to build trust. With trust, your negotiating cash-strapped partners could actually confide in you by divulging correctly how much they can afford. When you are equipped with this information, you could decide to save everyone’s time by calling off the negotiations if actually the fellows can not afford the deal. If you find out they can, you may decide to accommodate them further by lowering your own demands to meet theirs. That way, you could strike a deal that is capable of making all parties happy.

03. Ask them if they can pay in installments. This way, you are further cementing the picture of willingness to help out. Your negotiating partners may be unable to afford a bulk amount at once but if the picture of payments in installments over an extended period of time is presented, they could deal at that point. That again presents a good picture of willingness to help.

04. Subtly remind them that they can deal elsewhere. This strategy is rather tricky and could backfire if not tactically used. You may inadvertently hurt the ego of your negotiating partners if you are not careful here. A bruised ego automatically means a no-deal situation. That kind of scenario should be avoided at all costs. If you do it right and suggest to your negotiating partners that they could deal elsewhere, it will present a picture that you genuinely want to help even if the deal is not done with you. That could nudge them to want to deal with you believing that you could give further concessions that will enable them to deal.

It is difficult to negotiate successfully when you aim to win all concessions. Success can only be guaranteed when all parties to the negotiations leave the table believing they won something. That creates the scenario of win-win on both sides. That is the ideal situation these tips can help achieve even if the other partners are actually cash-strapped or they are feigning it as many are wont to do.  That is the win-win scenario every entrepreneur who wants to have maximum benefits from negotiations should endeavor to create as much as practicable at all times and in all situations. Negotiating concessions is a very good way to save money or to make money for the business. That makes it highly desirable for the business.