Negotiating to WIN — Event Recap: WIN LDN x She Wins
Equal pay has been the law for over half a century and yet women are still getting paid less than men when they're doing equal work. And with men four times more likely than women to negotiate, especially when it comes to their salary, there is a lifetime earnings gap of more than £600,000 between the sexes.
Lack of negotiation skills and experience is something we hear raised again and again as being a key barrier to success - particularly in an industry where only 25% of innovation firms are led by women. That’s why we teamed up with negotiation experts She Wins to teach our WIN London community how to fearlessly negotiation for what you want at work (or beyond!).
Hosted by Landsec and sponsored by Frog, the female founders of She Wins delivered one of their intimate and practical workshops explaining the principles of negotiating and talking us through their key tactics on how to get comfortable with the art of negotiation.
Here are five tips to help you go into your next salary negotiation feeling confident and unapologetic:
1. Hit them with the facts
Do your research to provide objective proof of your value and to bolster your confidence - it’s hard to argue with the facts.
Negotiation experts spend 90% of their time preparing their strategy and 10% doing the negotiation, yet most of us go into salary negotiations unprepared. The more you know means the more confident you’ll feel about what you’re asking for. Speak to recruiters, search the internet and check in with the WIN community to educate yourself on salary bands and gather the facts and diverse sources of data to reinforce your salary negotiation.
If you need advice on how to conduct the best market research, you can read the three part blog ‘How to benchmark your salary’ from She Wins and download their ‘New Objective Criteria Template.’
2. Buddy up to hold your nerve
Determine your threshold and discuss it with someone who can hold you to it and celebrate with you when you achieve it!
Women often go into a negotiation solo having only internally talked through their strategy. Having a buddy to discuss your strategy with, and with whom you share the minimum salary amount you want, keeps you accountable. Whether it’s a colleague, friend or WIN member, they’ll help you to stand up for what you’re worth and give you the confidence to walk away and seek new opportunities that recognise your value.
3. Negotiate beyond just salary
Identify what else matters to you and what the company needs to help you and the negotiator achieve something that you both want.
The smartest negotiators ‘expand the pie’ by negotiating over multiple issues at the same time so that both parties leave feeling like they’ve given and gained something. To prepare think about what else is important to you, what other issues can you add to the table – job flexibility, growth opportunities, training, travel, title, bonus, commission, health/wellbeing benefits etc. Create a list of what’s important to you and what’s important to the negotiator so that you have other forms of value you can discuss.
4. Think business not personal
Disassociate your salary from your self-worth to maintain confidence when negotiating.
Those who are able to disconnect their self-worth from their salary see negotiating as a game and not a threat. Women often take negotiating their salary personally and so lose self-confidence in their argument. It’s important to switch your mindset and remember the business wants the best person in a role for the lowest amount they can pay them – it’s just business and shouldn’t stop you from pushing for what you know is fair.
5. Take your time
Don’t accept an offer on the spot - avoid feeling pressured by acknowledging the offer and say you’ll get back with a response.
During the negotiation make sure you pause after you’ve said something important – give the other person time to think and react – even if you hate silence and feel the need to fill it! When an offer is made, take your time and keep calm; don’t accept straight away, say you want to think about it and state when they’ll get a response - it’ll make you look more confident to the negotiator.
Employ these techniques during your next negotiation for a WIN-win scenario!
Thanks to Kate and Clare of She Wins, Frog, Landsec and the WIN community for another thought-provoking night!
She Wins: Clare Sutcliffe and Kate Pljaskovova
Photography: Carolina Gomez
Writer: Chloe Williams
WIN: Women in Innovation Copyright (c) 2019 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or repurposed without written permission from WIN: Women in Innovation (501(c)3). This blogpost is provided for your personal use only.