Derek Arden - Business Consultant, Author and Professional Speaker » Fees and Salary Negotiation

Fabio – the negotiator

Derek Arden — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:50:23 +0000

The week before you go to the World Cup – what a better time to negotiate a £12m contract extention. You haven’t been tested in qualifying for the world cup and the big test of managing super stars who are totally overpaid performing on the world stage is yet to come. The Football Association are crazy, the agents wind the situation up by creating an alternative position for footballers and managers. Only the sensible business like clubs don’t react, and there are not many of them. its a pity the FA are not sensible

When you are negotiating – remember to create power and options and get the client to want you more than anyone else. That means specialist skills and USP’s. The only USP is really you and the way you run your business. Information is power. Onwards and upwards Mr Capello – negotiator of the month.

Keep your boss on side

Derek Arden — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:26:09 +0000

Whenever you are asking for a rise make sure you don’t upset your boss. Whilst you need to “push the envelope” and stand up for yourself, make your case and justify why you should be paid more. However you need support from your immediate superiors even if they cannot make the decisions. If it doesn’t work the first time keep trying – price match your services in conjunction with similar jobs. Say do you boss I know you are on my side but I do not believe what you are paying me is right – how close can you come to my figure? Separate the people from the problem.

Define your value proposition

Derek Arden — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:05:22 +0000

Your value proposition is what you bring to the table. It is very helpful when you are preparing your CV to think, what do I really contribute? What are my skills and how does my attitude and hunger fit into what they want or need.

Whilst your skills might be in computers, what have you learnt about marketing and selling. How good are you at networking, can you negotiate? The latter skills will bring a lot more to the party and most computer people are not so good when it comes to the “Human” people skills.

Your value proposition should be used as your primary response whenever you are asked these types of questions: ‘ So tell me about yourself? ‘ ‘ Why should I consider you for this position? ‘ How do you know you can do the job? ‘
Your value proposition also becomes an integral part of your CV. It is placed at the top, so it sets the tone. It holds tremendous weight as a differentiating tool, swiftly setting you, and your CV, apart from the rest.

Think back to the extra things you have done for people in the past. Organising away days, developing websites helping charities. This type of energy will make a massive difference when differentiating yourself with others and will put you in a much stronger haggling, negotiating position.

By listing these things down or mindmapping them – you will grow your self-esteem and your confidence. This will show through in all aspects of your body language and the way you come across.

Your value proposition is who you are and what YOU do. This is different to a list of jobs that you might see on a CV. Think the value proposition as a pitch to clients

BA – pilots agree salary reduction after months of negotiation and haggling

Derek Arden — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:47:54 +0000

Listening to the chief union negotiator for BALPA – the pilots union, he made some very interesting comments which can be used in any negotiation.
He said “We never take anything we are told on face value. We pressure test it. Having pressure tested the BA finances we feel that it is necessary to help the company, our company and the best airline in the world”. I believe you should always pressure test things you are told. Pressure test the numbers and pressure test the body language – the sensory acuity

Then they have haggled. In return for a cut of £11m in the salary bill – they will get shares in 2011, payable in 2014 when BA is profitable. Remember the magic words – “If you do this for us – then we will do that for you”. trading concessions is key to any negotiation.

Win win win deal. Mr Walsh now has only the cabin crew, ground staff and baggage handlers to haggle with and he can go on holiday.

Negotiations and Strikes

Derek Arden — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:35:00 +0000

Looking round the world at this time you can see lots of issues developing between unions and employers. Power shifts are key here and in any negotiation you have to look at where the power is and how you can work together for a win win situation. Collaboration for the benefit of all is critical, rather than positional bargaining which is win lose. To cut the jargon, work together to find a solution.

In South Africa for example there is a petrol tankers strike. What a crazy thing to happen when the South African economy is suffering from the recession. Entrenched positions are not helpful. Getting together and listening to the other side and finding out what they really want (including personal agenda’s is key to haggling and bargaining.

In salary negotiating find out what are the motivators for your key people which may not be money.

Women and Salaries

Derek Arden — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:06:00 +0000

My negotiation research tells me that women continue to earn less than men doing the same job and it is probably getting worse in 2009. The reason for this is probably –
1 – They are generally more trusting in the system
2 – They are less competitive than men doing the same job
3 – They are less likely to ask / haggle for a rise than a man

If you have any comments additions to my findings please email me and I will look into them

Sir Fred Goodwin – The Negotiator, win/lose negotiating

Derek Arden — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:37:00 +0000

Sir Fred Goodwin gets the Derek Arden award for Salary Negotiating in this decade. Having destroyed the RBS / NatWest brand / shareholder value and any other Business School measure; his I Win / You Lose Negotiating style has bought the biggest pile of non performing toxic assets (ABN/AMRO) for the largest inflated price ever paid for a bank.

This is without any kind of due diligence of the toxic assets and saddled the UK taxpayer with £300 billion of toxic debt. At the same time he Negotiates himself a payout and a pension of £650,000 a year from the UK taxpayer which at age 50 is probably worth more than £20m.

Knighted by a subdued Prime Minister for services to banking in 2004 – 100,000 RBS staff have seen their shares / given in lieu of pay reduced to zero. Most of which are nice genuine people working hard under enormous pressure.

I was asked to run training for a 6 branch bank that Barclays bought in 1984 and learnt at that time it was not possible to audit a loan book in less than 3 months. Hello wake up FSA.

Sir Fred, you have shredded, the RBS / NatWest brand and lined your own pockets. Now I know what they really meant when they said Fred the Shred. “Derek Arden The Negotiation Advisor”

Soft pound deals – haggle for extras

Derek Arden — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:03:00 +0000

Unless you are in a very powerful haggling position – this might not be the best time to negotiate your salary or fees.

Now is the time to do barter or swap transactions. Do things that you are an expert at, in return for something that is valuable to you from the other side.

If you are in salaried employment this could be having extra study leave, your company paying for extra training which will benefit both of you. More flexi-time etc etc

When you are doing this do not forget the usual rules of haggling / negotiation. Build rapport first, ask gentle teaser questions, come out with your proposition, back off if its no and re-ask later coming from another angle once you have found out where the company is coming from.

If you don’t ask you don’t get

Derek Arden – the negotiation mentor

Look surprised when they make an offer

Derek Arden — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:32:00 +0000

Phillippa one of my clients looked deliberately surprised when she was given her salary rise for a new job she was taking on. Actually she was surprised how much they had offered, but as coached she said nothing and with the silence held, her boss said you seem a bit dissappointed I will see what else I can do. He came back with another £2,500. You never know what you can haggle in Salary negotiations.

Timing is crucial in any negotiation

Derek Arden — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:32:00 +0000

I am advising a couple of my cleints not to negotiate their salary at the present time, due to difficulties within their companies and and the credit crunch. It is better to wait until the economic situation improves in their case. However now is the time to negotiate anything related to costs. Get your negotiating timing right.