A CEO told me a story about a salesperson who asked for a raise. She asked the salesperson, "Why do you deserve a raise?"

"Because I made less this year than I did last year," explained the salesperson.

"That's because you sold less this year than you did last year," said the CEO.

"I know. And I want you to make it up to me," said the salesperson.

This salesperson is no longer working for this organization.

So how and when should a salesperson ask for a raise? Understanding your boss's point of view will help you position your raise as a good thing for the company, instead of a good thing for you. Here are seven points to consider before negotiating a better deal:

1. Make Sure You Have Clout.

The salesperson in the example above didn't have clout. Coming off a bad year or quarter is the wrong time to test your value. With clout, you could find yourself with a better offer from the company or on the free agent market.

A better offer from another firm validates your claim that you're worth more to the company you're working for. If your boss wants to keep you, you have the clout to establish the parameters of your raise. However, if you use the "here's-what-I'm-worth-to-another-company" ploy, you have to be willing to leave.

2. Watch Your Timing.

Don't even think about asking for a raise until you've been there a year or more. Your value to the company increases when you have some customer relationships that you can leverage for increased sales and referrals.

3. Ask for Small Increases in Your Base Salary Based on Inflation.

If it's been a while since your base pay was adjusted, this ploy might work. However, the trend today is for lower bases and increased incentives. This lets companies reduce fixed expenses while rewarding you for meeting company expectations.

4. Be Willing to Take an Expanded Role in the Company.

You have both a job and a role as a salesperson. Your job is to sell and make your quota. Your role is to mentor that new salesperson and be part of the team.

Your role means supporting your boss in sales meetings, not rolling your eyes and sighing when the new demands come down from corporate, and not promising clients things that your production people can't deliver. Bosses bend over backwards to keep salespeople with good attitudes and look for excuses to fire the malcontents.

5. Negotiate for Perks That Don't Cost the Company More Taxes and Benefits.

Companies don't have to pay workers' compensation and FICA on an extra week of vacation, a trip or increased car or cell phone allowances. It's income to you, but not as costly in cash outlay as a raise.

6. Ask for Extra Incentives After You've Made Your Quota.

That's the easiest thing for your boss to give you. Imagine getting an additional 10 percent, or even 20 percent, on everything you sell once you've made your commission. This works, because your boss has to deliver a number to his boss. Once you help deliver that number, you've got more clout and people want you to stay.

7. Make It a Winning Situation for You and Your Boss.

In the scenario in the beginning of this article, the only winner would have been the salesperson. The boss didn't get increased performance. Show that you're willing to take on more responsibility. Be willing to do some of the work before you get paid to demonstrate that you deserve the increase .

Asking for a raise is just like asking for an order. Practice your presentation. Be as prepared for this meeting as you would be for a presentation to a major customer. Arm yourself with facts and figures on your performance. Position the raise as a benefit to the company. And finally, make sure your boss sees you as a winner and not a whiner.

一位執(zhí)行總裁給我講了一個(gè)故事，是關(guān)于一名銷售人員 向她要求加薪的。她問(wèn)那名員工：“為什么你應(yīng)該得到一份更高的薪水呢?”

“因?yàn)榻衲晡业玫降男剿热ツ赀€要少。”這名銷售人 員解釋道。

“那是因?yàn)槟憬衲甑匿N售業(yè)績(jī)不如去年。”這位執(zhí)行總 裁回答道。

“我知道。所以我想讓您幫幫我。”這名銷售人員說(shuō)。

這名銷售人員現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不再在這家公司工作了。

所以一名銷售人員應(yīng)該在什么時(shí)候以什么樣的方式來(lái)要 求加薪呢?了解你的老板的想法能夠幫助你把給自己加薪描述成一件有益于公司的好事，而不僅僅只是于你有利。以下是在和老板協(xié)商加薪之前應(yīng)該考慮的七點(diǎn)：

1.確定你有要求加薪的底氣

上面例子中的那名銷售人員就根本沒(méi)有底氣。剛剛遭遇 了一個(gè)失敗的銷售年度或者季度，并不是時(shí)候去老板那里驗(yàn)證你的價(jià)值。如果你有好的業(yè)績(jī)，你就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己能夠在公司或者在代理自由市場(chǎng)上得到一份更好的合 約。

得到另外一家公司提供的更好的合約能夠證明你對(duì)于正 效力的公司更有價(jià)值所言非虛。如果你的老板想留住你，你就能夠決定加薪的幅度。但是，如果你堅(jiān)持“這是我在那家公司所能得到的”策略，你就準(zhǔn)備好離開(kāi)吧。

2.注意時(shí)機(jī)

除非你在這家公司已經(jīng)工作一年或者更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間，否則千 萬(wàn)不要想去要求加薪。只有當(dāng)你與一定數(shù)量的顧客群體建立了固定聯(lián)系，并且能夠通過(guò)他們來(lái)增加銷售和轉(zhuǎn)介業(yè)績(jī)之后，你對(duì)于公司才算比較有價(jià)值。

3. 基于通貨膨脹要求基本薪水的小幅提升

如果你的基本薪水調(diào)整之后有一段時(shí)間了，這個(gè)策略可 能會(huì)奏效。但是，如今的趨勢(shì)是底薪越來(lái)越低，而獎(jiǎng)金越來(lái)越高。這讓公司減少了固定支出，而如果你的業(yè)績(jī)符合公司的期望，就能夠得到額外的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。

4.樂(lè)于為公司做更多的事情

作為一名銷售人員，你既有一份工作，也有一個(gè)自己的 角色。你的工作是銷售并且完成自己的配額。你的角色就是幫助指導(dǎo)新的銷售人員并且成為團(tuán)隊(duì)的一分子。

你的角色意味著你應(yīng)該在銷售會(huì)議上幫助支持你的老 板，而不是當(dāng)公司新的任務(wù)下來(lái)的時(shí)候，眼睛轉(zhuǎn)來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)去，哀嘆連天，更不能向你的客戶承諾一些生產(chǎn)商并不能提供的服務(wù)。老板們總是拼命留住那些態(tài)度積極的銷售 員，同時(shí)找機(jī)會(huì)炒掉那些心存不滿的銷售人員。

5.與老板商量得到一些不會(huì)讓公司額外交稅或者有損 公司利益的補(bǔ)貼

公司不需要支付員工的賠償和一周額外假期的社會(huì)保 險(xiǎn)，旅行或者額外轎車或者手機(jī)津貼。對(duì)于你來(lái)說(shuō)這些也是收入，但卻不象直接加薪那樣難。

6.在你完成配額之后，要求額外的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)

這是你最容易從老板那里得到的。想象一下，只要你完 成你的配額后，你就能夠得到額外銷售額的百分之十，甚至百分之二十。這個(gè)方法奏效，因?yàn)槟愕睦习逡蛩睦习逄峁┮粋€(gè)數(shù)字。一旦你幫忙提交了這個(gè)數(shù)字，你 就更有底氣了，他們也就更希望你留下了。

7.讓加薪對(duì)于你和你的老板來(lái)說(shuō)成為一個(gè)雙贏的局面

在本文開(kāi)頭的場(chǎng)景當(dāng)中，唯一的贏家只能是那位銷售人 員。老板并沒(méi)有得到更好的銷售業(yè)績(jī)。向老板展示你非常樂(lè)意擔(dān)負(fù)起更多的責(zé)任。要樂(lè)于在獲得報(bào)酬之前多做一些事情來(lái)告訴老板你應(yīng)該獲得加薪。

要求加薪就好像爭(zhēng)取一份訂單。演練好你的陳述。像為 一名重要客戶準(zhǔn)備介紹演講那樣為這次會(huì)面做好準(zhǔn)備。用你出色業(yè)績(jī)的事實(shí)和數(shù)字來(lái)武裝自己。把加薪定位成一件對(duì)于公司有利的事情。最后，確定你的老板認(rèn)為你 是一個(gè)成功者，而不是一名哀訴者。