I was recently promoted to a management role and my responsibilities have increased. I’ve been with this company for 7 years and I love the work-life balance (I work from home), love the products we make, love and believe in our core values (we’re an educational tech company) and love the people I work with.
But, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the market value for my role in my specific geographical area is $108K and they are offering me $70K. I’m well aware that if I job hopped, I could easily make more money.
The reason I want to stay goes beyond just loving my job; I also feel that I’ll get tremendous development opportunities in this role, which will serve me well by allowing me to build a solid track record of success that I can use to one day go to a new company and make even more money. I AM new to this role and while I have 10 years of relevant experience, I’m worried they’ll use that against me in negotiations.
My manager told me that she knows the offer “has room for improvement”, and that “money is tight”, which I’ve heard in the past from other managers, so obviously they know it’s a low-ball offer, which is normal in negotiations.
I told my manager that I want to think about the offer and she’s open to negotiation. Please give me your advice on my negotiation strategy, which is to say this:
“thank you for the promotion and for your offer. I’m thrilled and excited to enter this new role! This role has increased my responsibilities to the company and I know I will make a great impact on the company’s bottom line and the quality of our products. In researching the current market value for this role, I’m seeing that the salary range is from as low as $82K to as high as $182K with the average being $113,200. The average salary for this role in my geographic area is $108, 570, (this is the lowest I think I should accept and they based my current salary on the exact same source, the BLS).
I know this company wants to promote from within because it’s a cost savings to the company, so I’m saving the company money because you don’t need to hire a new person for this role, which is a risk to the company too. I know you said money is tight and I can appreciate that. How about this: I’ll accept the $70K for this year if you promise to increase my salary to $113,200 next year.”
What if they say ‘let’s spilt the difference and we’ll go to $93,500, which is a 50% increase from your current salary, and if you increase new revenue for the company next year, we’ll go to $113,200’, would you think that’s fair? Or should I respond that “that’s so close to the $108k figure, what’s making you hesitate? You know me and you know what you’re getting, so do you think that you can make that work for me?”
I value any negotiation advice you can offer especially if you have had a similar situation! Thank you so much!