Calculating Winning Odds of the First MoveFrom: Jack Chapman You Go First—Too HighYou think, “Okay, you dirty, chiseling rats, I know you’re out to steal me cheap, but I’m too smart for you.” In your most diplomatic tones you say, “I know what I’m worth, and I want $60,000 to accept your offer.” The response? Probably, “Sorry, wrong number.” Your comeback: “Aw, I was just kidding. I really would accept $59,000. Fifty-eight thousand dollars? Fifty-seven thousand dollars sounds reasonable. Fifty-six thousand? Would you believe I love this place so much I’d go as low as $55,000?” Sound like begging? Awkward, isn’t it? So you lose the offer, or beg for the job. The first of four charts illustrates the win-loss ratio here.
Figure 4-1. You GoFirst—Too High. The Outcome Actually, the rejection might be phrased: “Well, $60,000 is not really the range we were thinking of, so give me some time to talk to our comptroller about it and get back to you, let’s say, Thursday.” (Don’t hold your breath.) You Go First—Too LowYou think, “Listen, Scrooge, you may get Bob Cratchit for peanuts, but you’re paying me a fair wage.” Firmly you say, “I know how valuable I am, and I won’t touch your job for less than $40,000.” Mr. Employer is disappointed. He thought he was finally getting quality and finds out you are bargain-basement merchandise. “Well,” he replies, “that’s not really the range we were thinking of, so give me some time to talk to our comptroller about it and get back to you, say, Thursday.” (Again, don’t hold your breath.) Or he might say some version of “Sold!” like: “$40,000. Well, that wasn’t exactly the range we were thinking of, but I think we can come up with it if you really think you’re worth that much. When would you like to start?” (You just got socked for $10,000.)
Figure 4-2. You GoFirst—Too Low. The Outcome You Go First—Just RightWhat if you’re just right? That is, you happen to hit the top of the range: “This will cost you $55,000, Mr. Employer.” “Well, that wasn’t exactly the range we were thinking of,” Mr. Employer says, “but I think we could come up with it if you really think you’re worth that much. When would you like to start?” Sound familiar? Of course. It’s the same words as the “Too low” response. So even if you were just right, you’ll always wonder if you really were too low!
Figure 4-3. You GoFirst—Just Right. The Outcome So Salary-Making Rule 2 is: Let them go first. If you go first, you can choose from among these outcomes: Lose the job, lose both the job and your dignity, lose $5,000 to $10,000, or lose track of whether you’ve lost or won. Not very encouraging odds. When you go to buy a new suit and find one that’s right, you ask, “What’s it cost?” Does the seller reply, “Well, how much have you got?” or “What did you pay for your last suit?” It’s not your job to determine how much this job is worth to these people in this situation at this time. (You do need to know your market value, of course. We’ll get to that in Chapter 5.) Employers know their business plans. They should have an idea of how you can make or save them a buck. It’s their place to tell you the number. Jack Chapman is a nationally know job coach and seminar speaker specializing for the last 20 years in salary negotiations and job interviews. For more information on Salary Negotiations, please visit: http://www.breakthrough-salaries.com/ |