The Flinch
By Jack Chapman
WHAT'S A...
--FOUR-LETTER WORD
--YOU USE EVERY DAY
--WITH NO VOWELS
--NOT FOUND IN THE DICTIONARY
--AND WHEN USED CORRECTLY IN NEGOTIATIONS WILL PUT DOLLARS IN YOUR
POCKET EVERY TIME?
You'll find the answer in the 4th paragraph, below.
**********************************
"OK."
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 $1,000 stereo system down the toilet;
B) ripped off your $3,000 quad-core computer system;
C) canceled your reservations for a $5,000 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 that one word be so powerful? Easy.
“Okay” 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
"Okay" to a "Hmmm," and watch what happens.
If you're at minimum wage and the employer says, "$4.65 an hour,"
an "Okay" will freeze it right there. But a "Hmmm" response
could increase it, and just 50 cents an hour more will earn you
$1,000 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 "Okay" 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 "Okay."
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, "Okay," you tie their
hands! There is no gracious way for them to raise the
offer.
Changing "Okay" 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
"Okay" 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,
"Okay"; say, "Hmmm."
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
P.S. What you've just read focuses only on rule three of five
salary negotiating rules found in <Negotiating Your Salary: How
to Make $1000 a Minute> To get the absolutely best shot at
winning in your negotiations, be sure to snag a copy of
<Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute> from
your bookstore or Amazon.com so you can learn all five
rules:
--When to discuss salary,
--Who goes first
--Your first response
--How to research your market value,
--How to add bennies and perks, getting it in writing, etc.
--and special situations, negotiating a raise, and more.
For now, remember, just saying "Hmmm" instead of "Okay" could boost
your money 10% right off the bat.
