Seven Strategies

for Negotiating
Success

Prepared By:
• Ahmed Taher
• Marwa Qotb
• Esraa Karam
• Aya Ghonem
• Baher Mogahed
• Engy Ramadan
Seven Strategies for
Negotiating Success

•1. Know Your Priorities

•2. Address the Employer’s Needs
•3. Know How Much Leverage You Have
•4. Persuade the Interviewer to Name the First Figure, if Possible
•5. Consider More than Just Money
•6. Understand the Variable Pay Components
•7. Remain Professional
Know Your
priorities

Practical example
Before prioritizing Benefits Current company Target company

Annual Bonus 2 months 3 months

Basic salary X X+2000

Overtime No overtime High rate overtime

Work-family balance High Low

Medical insurance Full family coverage Personal coverage only

Flexible schedule Available Not available

Distance 30 minutes far from home 90 minutes far from home

Transportation availability From door to door Assembly points

Company name Local brand American brand

Technical experience The same The same (with different

system)
Single

P Benefits Current company Target company

1 Company name Gulf brand American brand
2 Technical experience The same The same (with different system)
3 Basic salary X X+2000
4 Overtime No overtime High-rate overtime
5 Annual Bonus 2 months 3 months
6 Distance  30 minutes far from home 90 minutes far from home
7 Work-family balance High Low
8 Medical insurance Full family coverage Personal coverage only
9 Flexible schedule Available  Not available
10 Transportation availability From door to door Assembly points 
 Married

P Benefits Current company Target company

1 Distance  30 minutes far from home 90 minutes far from home
2 Work-family balance High Low
3 Medical insurance Full family coverage Personal coverage only
4 Flexible schedule Available  Not available
5 Transportation availability From door to door Assembly points 
6 Company name Gulf brand American brand
7 Technical experience The same The same (with different system)
8 Basic salary X X+2000
9 Overtime No overtime High-rate overtime
10 Annual Bonus 2 months 3 months
Address the Employer’s Needs
Address the Employer’s need not
just your own as a basis for
determining compensation

• In negotiations, keep the focus on the

employer’s needs and how you are
uniquely qualified to address them
• Knowing how to negotiate will make
this conversation less daunting.
• Advanced preparation will not only
maximize the potential for a better
compensation package, but will also
show that you’ve done your
homework and know your value and
the “market rate” of the position
Tips to Help You Effectively
Negotiate
Evaluate Your Worth:
• This may require you to demonstrate that the
market value for someone with your experience
and the ability to truly satisfy the demands of the
position is higher than what the company is offering
• Be sure to clearly communicate your strengths and
capabilities during the interview.
Emphasize Your Skills and Abilities, Not Your Needs
• Avoid presenting your request in terms of how you
will benefit (e.g., pay off your student loans or buy
a new car). Instead, point out how the company will
benefit by the experience and contributions you
will make.
Tips to Help You
Effectively Negotiate
Determine the Going Rate and Research the Job
Market:
• Research publications, career-related Web sites,
information from professional associations and
resources to establish pay ranges for a variety of
the same position in different geographic
locations.
• These sources, combined with your networking
contacts, can help you determine which
incentives or benefits others at your level are
typically receiving.
• The more facts you have on your side, the more
reasonable your requests will seem.
Tips to Help You Effectively Negotiate
Have an Amount in Mind:
Decide what you want and what you’ll accept. This means knowing three
important figures:
• Your “dream” salary-the most you can ask for without fear of
alienating your prospective employer.
• Your bottom line-the lowest figure you’d settle for.
• Your goal-a realistic amount you think you have a good chance of
getting.

Be Ready to Compromise
• Most employers are willing to negotiate, but they also need to know
that you are willing to as well. A heavy-handed “pay me what I’m
worth or else” ultimatum is not recommended. If the employer comes
close to what you’re after, you’ll have to decide whether to settle on
this figure.
Know How
Much
Leverage You
Have
What is leverage?

What most consider to be negotiation

power — leverage — actually relates
to two factors:
1. how much each party needs that
deal relative to the other.
2. the relative value of each party’s
best alternative to that deal, or
their Plan B.
 1. Get information about the other
How to side’s true needs, wants and fears.
2. Improve the value of your
strengthen alternative/Plan B
3. Consider how you might limit the
your attractiveness of the other side’s
alternatives.

leverage
4. After you’ve evaluated the
leverage and improved your own
Plan B, determine how to
effectively use it
5. Value your reputation as a goal
6. Downplay your leverage.
7. Emphasize “fair” standards
How to strengthen your leverage

8. Concede some items

9. Don’t impose your agenda
10. Understand perceptions’ impact on the
process
11. Research parties’ historical perceptions and
expectations
12. Consciously manage expectations to your
benefit
13. Don’t cross the ethical line
14. Leverage is a relative concept: Be strategic
about what leverage information you disclose
Persuade the
Interviewer to
Name the First
Figure, if Possible
“What are your salary
expectations?”
This question is tricky because it sounds like they’re giving you
a chance to set the baseline for your new salary. It sounds like
they’re asking you to contribute to the terms of the job offer
you’ll hopefully get later.

But let’s re-frame this question to reflect what they’re really

asking for:
“Can you take a wild guess what salary we might pay
someone with your skillset and experience to do the job you
applied for?”

The truth is you probably have no idea what they pay people
because that decision—what a company pays someone to do a
job—is dependent on lots of factors that have nothing to do
with your particular qualifications to do the job.
 The “real” salary they’re willing
to pay could increase throughout
your interview
What most people don’t know is that the company’s
own answer to the salary expectations question could
change as you move through the interview process. 

What will happen is:

• They have a salary range in mind.
• You convince them that you are the candidate they
need.
• They’ll redefine the role to give them more room to
pay you.
• They’ll make a strong offer with room to
counteroffer and negotiation.
When they first started talking to you, they were
thinking:
• “What’s the minimum salary we would need
to offer to bring this person on board?”
Now they’re thinking:
• “How much compensation do we need to offer
to convince this person to join our team?”

See the difference? Before, they were looking

for a minimum compensation number. Now,
they’re looking for a compelling compensation
number.
 “What’s your
current salary?”
This question is pretty straightforward, but not
nearly as innocuous as it may sound. Here’s a
different way of looking at this question:
“What’s the minimum salary we need to offer to
convince you to change companies?”
I know you might be thinking about the last time
this came up, and you told them your current
salary, and they offered you more than that. 
But this is normal. They made you an offer  just
enough to entice you to leave your current job
and go work for them. It was more, but it was
not the best compensation they could offer you.
Options for answering salary
expectations questions
Level 1 answer
“I’m just not comfortable discussing my
current or expected salary. I prefer to
focus on the value I can add in this
position, and I look forward to hearing
what you think is appropriate.”

This means that their eventual offer will

need to reflect both your market value and
the value you’ll add to the company
without being biased by your current
salary.
Options for answering
salary expectations questions
Level 2 answer
If the Level 1 answer doesn’t quite work, it’s time to move on
to Level 2, which requires a slightly more sophisticated
answer:
“It sounds like you’re trying to qualify me for a salary range.
If you want to tell me what that range is, I’m happy to tell
you if it’s in the ballpark.”
The nice thing about the way this script is worded is that
you’re not actually committing to accepting a job offer in
that salary range. You’re saying it’s “in the ballpark”. This
matters because you still have full latitude to negotiate
your compensation later on once they finally make you an
offer.
Options for
answering salary expectations questions

Level 3 answer
“I’m not comfortable sharing my current employer’s proprietary
compensation information, and I know they wouldn’t appreciate
it if I did. I still work for them, and I’m just not comfortable
sharing their proprietary information about how they pay people
like me. I really don’t have a specific number in mind for an
expected salary, and I look forward to hearing what you suggest.”

That should enable you to move on to the actual job

interviews. This is a heavy-handed answer, but it’s necessary
because of the situation. You’re basically saying, “I have ethical
qualms with giving you the compensation information you’re
demanding.” This has the advantage of putting the pressure back
on the recruiter.
How to handle paper and
online job applications
Leave salary questions blank if possible. This will
work for paper applications, and even for some
online applications that don’t check your entries
before saving the form.

But if you must fill in the fields that ask for current

salary or expected salary, use fake numbers like
“0” or “1” or “999999999”. This will either move
you along in the process or prompt the recruiter
to ask you for your salary expectations verbally
(which you’re prepared for).
Consider More than Just
Money
  “Know your worth,”
“Ask for what you deserve,”
 “Be willing to walk away if you don’t get what you want,”

•Paid time off, parental leave, commuter

benefits, professional development
opportunities, tuition reimbursement—
the list goes on.

• There are so many things you can

consider when assessing an offer and
understanding the full range of options
available to you can be particularly
helpful.
 1. Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
Are the Most Desirable Employee
Benefits
2. Employees Want More Flexibility and
More Vacation Time
The benefits to 3. Work From home

consider 4. Student Loan and Tuition Assistance

5. Paid parental leave
6. Free gym membership
7. Free day care services 
 8.   Free fitness 
9.   Free snacks
10. Free Coffee
The benefits 11. Company wide – Retreats

to consider 11. Weekly Free employee outgoing

12. On- site Gym
13. Team Bonding Events
Finally, after you’ve weighed the
important factors, take time to
listen to what your gut is telling
you. People often say when
they’re buying a house, “when
you walk into the one, you’ll feel
it.” Same advice here: if you walk
out of an interview and
everything feels right (or wrong), 
pay attention to that feeling.
Understand the
Variable Pay
Components 
TYPES OF
VARIABLE  PAY 
PLANS

• Bonuses
• Gain sharing
• Profit Sharing
Variable Pay as a Percent of Sales

Julia works as a media advertising executive and manages several

accounts. In addition to her hourly pay rate, she receives 5 percent
of all advertising dollars paid by her clients each month. That
means that her pay (her variable pay compensation) changes
based on her client’s payments. Her variable pay works as an
incentive to Julie to keep her current advertising customers happy,
as well as to find new one.
Annual Bonus

Usually a lump-sum payment

(cash, shares )made once a year
in addition to an employee's
normal salary or wage for a fiscal
or calendar year. Generally
nondiscretionary and not based
on predetermined performance
criteria or standards.
Remain
Professional
How to Remain Professional 

• Follow a Process
• Prepare the Other Side First
• Be Easy to Work With
• Strive for a Win-Win Solution
• Think Long Term
• The  rule  of three Dimensions
• Be Prepared to Renegotiate
 • The salary and benefits package
• My Career path goals ,my previous experience
• The incentives offered are motivational or not
• How I can handle the challenges of the new
position 
• The hours and the travel trips required and my

Final goals  for work/life balance.

• The company culture is a match with my values
Consideratio and personality.
• The work environment  is  positive and
ns Before professional
• My  colleagues appear to be people with
Saying Yes! whom I would enjoy working.
Conclusion
• Know your worth.
• Do your research.
• Ask for what you want.
• Be willing to listen.
• See the situation from all angles.
• Choose the best time to negotiate.
• Remain focused and practical.
• Take your time.
• Consider alternatives.
• Have confidence in your ability to negotiate.
• Be willing to walk away.