If you bring a positive attitude to the office every day, know that you provide huge value with the work that you do, and want to see your efforts better reflected in your bank account, you’re reading the right piece.
What you will find is to learn when and how to ask for a raise so that your request will be heard by a receptive audience. Then, how to build a strategy that will help you achieve the best possible outcome. So here’s everything you need to know about asking for a raise:
1/ Reasons why you need to ask for a raise
Build up your confidence
The more you do something, the more confident you become in it, and then the more you continue to do it.
Asking for a raise builds your confidence, which then leads you to greater things that can make you satisfied. That means that even if you get a “no,” you’ll still have gained something valuable from the process.
Remind your Employer how hard you work
Just by drawing attention to the quality of your work allows your input to be more noticeable—and your time, talent, and skills more appreciated.
You spend a lot of hours in that office, and as much as you hope your manager notices it, making this ask gives you the chance to make sure it’s clear.
Sitting down for a serious chat and laying out your recent accomplishments reminds him or her why you’re an incredibly valuable asset.
2/ Steps to ask for a raise in a Salesforce Job
Step 1: Choose the right time
Picking the right time to ask for a raise is just as important for preparing for this discussion.
You need to carefully choose your timing. There are some occasions for you to identify the right time to ask for a raise:
ANNUAL PAYCHECK REVIEW
If you work for a company that generally gives raises once a year, pay attention to when that normally happens.
Once you know when that happens, plan to initiate the conversation with your boss at least a month or two before that formal process begins.
If you wait until decisions on raises have already been made, it might be too late for him or her to get changes made.
WHEN YOUR PERFORMANCE IS ON TOP
If it’s been a year or more since your salary was last set, and if you’ve been doing excellent work or just reached an impressive milestone or exceeded an important goal, it’s reasonable to ask to revisit your pay now.
If you’ve been making a lot of mistakes or your boss hasn’t seemed pleased with your work, a request for a raise isn’t likely to go over well, and you risk seeming like you’re not assessing your own performance accurately.
WHEN YOUR MANAGER IS HAPPY
If you know that your manager is under a lot of stress or focused on too many things right now, it may not be the time to ask for a raise.
Paying attention to your manager’s moods and identifying how to help them demonstrates a level of maturity that will be useful to mention in your conversation about compensation.
Step 2: Do research
GET SALARY TREND
At this stage, you may be asking yourself how much of a raise to ask for. By learning about the trend for your job title and your city, you will have a foundation for understanding the monetary value of your work.
You may want to compare what you’re currently being paid to the trends you find. Where you fall within that range may affect the increase in pay that you ask for.
Ask your current co-workers and recruiters
Most people don’t love being asked, “What do you earn?” but will happily share if you ask, “What would you expect a job like X at a company like Y to pay?”
You can also try talking to recruiters and see if any professional organizations in your field keep salary data.
STEP 3: prepare for Documents
Pull all the positive praise you’ve received since your last review. It helps if you set up a folder on your computer or in your email account to store all those notes from clients, your boss, and your colleagues in which you were commended for a great job.
Step 4: Prepare what to say
You want to touch on why you think you’ve earned a raise — i.e., that your responsibilities and/or the level of your contributions has increased
You start by setting the tone of the conversation. Warm, collegial and appreciative but no extra fluff. Instead of puttering around the issue, you set the agenda clearly:
“Hi Boss, thanks for taking the time to meet with me today. I know your time is valuable so I’ll cut straight to the point. I’d like to first quickly bring you up to speed on the progress I’ve made over the past year, then I’d love to have a conversation about my compensation. Would that work for you?”
If your manager is open to the conversation from there, follow up with specifics: tell them the increase or salary figure you’d like, cite the research you’ve done to arrive at that number, and close with examples of your work that justify a raise.
When you give an example of your work, include a metric that makes the value clear. Here are some examples of accomplishments backed up by metrics:
“Over the last few months, I planned and then executed our largest client event to date. Attendee feedback significantly surpassed last year’s event satisfaction scores, averaging an 8 out of 10. Lead generation is also up 10% since last year.” You: “I’ve consistently exceeded my sales quota, most recently reaching 128% of my monthly goal.”
Then you can continue to mention the reasons why your Manager should consider raising your salary and ask for confirmation:
“In the time since my last salary adjustment, I’ve worked on several initiatives that have added significant value to the company. For instance, in the last few months, I [insert example your most impressive accomplishment]. These achievements have made me ready for a raise. Does that sound fair?”
By now, you’ve established your undeniable value, credibility, and commitment to contributing more value. You’ve set a straightforward and positive tone, adding to your likability.
Step 5: Practice to response
You can expect there to be some negotiation. Listen carefully to how your manager responds to your request. If you feel intimidated at any point, return back to your evidence to strengthen your case.
Boss: “Well, I appreciate the thought and preparation you put into this. And while I can assure you that the company values your contributions, what you’re asking for is a 30% increase in pay and I don’t know if the company can afford such a big jump in salary.”
Boss: “No one here is denying the value you’ve contributed. It’s just our budget is pretty tight given the margin squeeze from rising costs.”
If you’ve done your homework and framed for undeniable value, there’s no need to react to this with shock, anger or defensiveness.
Instead, you need to stay calm and confident in your response.
You: “Can you tell me more about why that increase isn’t possible?”
You: “This year, I’m being held responsible to bring in [number], [percent] more than what I brought in last year. I understand costs are rising over the year, so if I meet this year’s targets, the growth in revenue will more than cover the rise in costs.
Help me understand. How am I supposed to be motivated by not having an increase in salary, when I’m being asked to produce [percent] higher than before?”
With the open question, “How am I supposed to..?” you subtly have your boss imagining the situation from your shoes, or seeing it from your perspective.
Not all negotiation conversations go easy like this. You may deal with difficult bosses, different kinds of pushback and complex situations that require more strategic planning.
Step 6: Meet the Supervisor/ Manager and discuss
It’s ideal to ask for a raise in person and in private. If you’re not in the same location as your manager, have the conversation over a video call, if possible.
3/ What to avoid when asking for a raise?
Ask at a bad timing
Use common sense when you approach your supervisor about the possibility of a raise.
If your boss is particularly stressed and overworked, it’s probably not the best time to bring up the topic.
Mention colleagues’ salary
If you know someone makes more money than you and you think that you deserve a salary that’s equal—or higher—it’s advisable not to mention it.
It’s just not professional, and you never know if what you’ve heard, or overheard, is true.
Reveal too much personal information
Unless you have an exceptionally familiar relationship with your supervisor, it’s a good idea to avoid citing personal reasons – like if your spouse lost his or her job, if you’re sending another child to college, or if an investment went bad – and instead keep the emphasis on what you’ve done to merit a raise.