An FBI hostage negotiator reveals the secret to demanding the raise you deserve. How? There are two phrases that can apparently help you earn more money.
Chris Voss was a former lead international kidnapping negotiator for the FBI. He is also the founder and CEO of The Black Swan Group. This company solves business negotiation challenges by using techniques he learned from hostage negotiations in the FBI.
In his technical years of experience, he learned that hostage negotiations can be mirrored as business transactions. Sounds harsh for some as it involves human lives but the methods are in the same platform.
He uses the techniques he learned to answer questions such as "How do I negotiate a better salary?" According to Voss, this is his field-tested advice that will give you the competitive edge in salary negotiation. He tells Market Watch, that the number one rule in any negotiation is never to take yourself hostage. "People do this to themselves all the time by being desperate for 'yes' or afraid of 'no,' so they don't ask for what they really want. Instead, they ask for what they can realistically get."
He goes on to explain that another way people make themselves the hostage is by naming the list of "must-haves" and "giveaways." The things that you are willing to "give away" is what they want most of all, and what they would have negotiated hard for. So ask an open-ended question such as: "What sort of options do you have with the benefits package? It seems like there's some flexibility there."
Voss moves on to the second critical tactic in salary negotiation which lies with two easy words: "What" and "how": "What does it take to be successful here?" and "How can I be involved in projects critical to the strategic future of the company?" He advices that candidates should position themselves by establishing value with the company and co-workers by being committed to the future prosperity.
