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Negotiating Your Salary
Finally, remember that your base pay is not the only thing you’re nego-
tiating for. You’re actually negotiating for a full compensation
package that may include a sign-on bonus, extra benefits and
perks, and many other features we’ll talk about later in this chap-
ter. Let’s move on to an actual blow-by-blow account of a salary
negotiation.
The Salary Discussion

Here are some possible scenarios that illustrate the principles of
open-door negotiating and the use of the four bargaining factors.
This is the story of Alex, a computer hardware sales engineer:

QUESTION: What are you making right now?
ANSWER: I’m making as good or better than a person of my
skills in this geographic area.

QUESTION: Can you give me an exact number?

ANSWER: Well, you know, it’s very difficult to compare what
someone in a small company like mine makes with
what someone working in a large company like this
one would make. Maybe you could tell me what
salary range would be reasonable for a person with
my skills in this company.
QUESTION: Oh, anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000, plus commissions.

ANSWER: [stands up, puts his hand out for a handshake]
$60,000 sounds great. When can I start?

This may sound like it’s all too simple, but it works. This is a very
typical salary negotiation for many of my clients. The scenario
can certainly unfold in a thousand different ways, but what looks
like luck here isn’t. It’s skill. Let’s see what happened and exact-
ly how Alex managed to pull this one off:

1. He never mentioned the exact amount of money he
made, even when asked twice.

2. He did say he was in the “mid to high range.”

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