In my book, Increase Your Income: 7 Rules For Women Who Want To Make More Money at Work, I detail 7 steps that I use with my clients. I recommend that people see this as an opportunity to work with their manager. Unfortunately, too often people think their manager is stopping them from getting a raise when in reality a lot of times the manager wants to increase the salary but they need to convince their manager or Human Resources. I help clients to work with their managers and see this as a partnership. Another area to focus on is building a business case. Think about it like a project. If you want funding for a project you need to show how it will make money or save money for the company. It's the same with a salary increase. Put that information together even if you think that your manager knows it. That's the kind of information they can use to get agreement from their manager for the increase. I recommend that people clearly ask for a raise instead of hinting. One client told me that she had previously asked for a raise and it didn't work. When I asked her what she said, she told me that she said, "it would be nice to make more money". Her manager said, "yeah it would be nice". I explained to her that wasn't clearly asking. Her manager just thought it was a comment. We practiced what to say and when she did clearly ask, she got the raise she wanted. I also recommend that people prepare responses to Yes, Maybe, and the dreaded No. In most cases, people will get a maybe because the manager needs time to think or convince someone else. When one client asked for a raise his manager said maybe and he was prepared. He stayed positive and asked the manager what information he could provide to help her make a decision. The manager said she just needed some time to look into it. Two weeks later, the client got the raise. Another client prepared for the raise conversation and was surprised when her manager quickly said yes. She didn't expect that. She asked the manager why she hadn't gotten a raise before that and the answer was, "because you didn't ask". Clients often assume that their managers know they want more money but they may not be thinking about that. They may think that the client is happy with their current salary. My advice is you need to clearly ask. I tell clients, "if you don't ask, you won't get".
I once helped a client who had been in the same position for a few years and felt they deserved a salary increase. We started by reviewing their accomplishments and impact on the company-focusing on specific projects where they'd gone above and beyond. I recommended they gather data on industry salary standards and prepare a list of their contributions to the team's success. Then, we practiced how to approach the conversation, with a focus on being confident but also open to feedback. The result? They got a promotion and a salary increase. My advice is always to be prepared, know your worth, and approach the conversation with a positive, collaborative attitude.