Negotiate the Salary You Want with the Briefcase Technique

Popout Ramit Sethi is a New York Times best-selling author and creator of one of our favorite personal finance sites, I Will Teach You to Be Rich. In his weekly video Q&A for Lifehacker, Ramit answers common questions about personal finance, careers, and more. This week, Ramit shares his Briefcase Technique, a tried and true method for successfully negotiating your salary.

Photo by claudiofichera (Shutterstock)

Most of us don't negotiate—with our bosses, our clients, even our cable companies. Why? We know we're leaving money on the table, but we're not sure what to say. We don't want it to be awkward. And what if they say no?

In my household, I was basically bred to negotiate. And after my parents taught me, I wanted to share some of my most powerful negotiation tactics with others who didn't grow up in such a... peculiar family.

Today, I want to share a specific technique that I always recommend for freelance and salary negotiations, and which, when it works, can make all the difference.

What you'll notice is something unusual that you rarely hear about successful negotiations. Yes, your body language matters... and yes, the words you use matter. But you'll notice that 80% of the work is done before you ever set foot at the negotiating table.

This is called The Briefcase Technique, and I've put together the video above to show you exactly how it works.

Notice a few things.

First, this isn't just for negotiating salary. You can use this for job interviews, client discussions (for freelancers), and virtually any other type of negotiation.

Second, when I initially released this technique publicly, it got re-posted on a discussion forum, where people said things like "yawn" and "He could really use a professional clear plastic binder too."

Ah, internet commenters. It's easy to scoff at something that seems so simple, but in my experience, and the experience of readers of I Will Teach You to Be Rich, it works.

Finally, notice what's really happening here. Besides its theatricality, the Briefcase Technique forces you to do your homework before you ever set foot in the room. You'll need to truly understand the hopes, fears, and dreams of the other person—whereas most people walk into an interview and simply "answer questions" or into a salary negotiation and "ask for a raise."

80% of the work happens before you walk in the room.

You do this by studying the needs of the other person—not simply writing down what you want. What does the hiring manager really want? What do they fear? What if you gave them a 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day plan?

If you do, you've just separated yourself from 99% of other applicants. And when you do your homework, the Briefcase Technique can produce powerful results. If you're curious about the exact words and body language to use in a negotiation, check out the exact words to negotiate your salary.

The Briefcase Technique - to earn thousands of dollars | I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Posted via email from AndyWergedal