The Acceptable Offer Negotiation Technique
In attempting to "sweeten" an acceptable job offer, the best approach is to
play upon the ego and power of your new manager. Not in a negative way, but
giving him a chance to "show his strength" within the company. You need to
realize that you are in one of the strongest political positions you may ever be
in with your new employer. Utilizing this
technique can have the side effect of
enhancing your future power within the
organization--if used correctly.
The key to using this technique is to
empower your new manager. You give him
power in two ways: (1) by accepting (yes, I
said accepting) the position, you give him
power because he has added the desired
person to his team, and (2) by asking him for his assistance in meeting your
further needs, you give him an opportunity to show his power within the
organization. How to do this? Consider the following example:
"_____ (name of boss), I'm calling you with some very good news. I
would like to accept your offer and I'm looking forward to working
with you and becoming a valuable member of the team. (Wait for their
positive response.) I am committed to working with you, and as my
future boss there is (are) a (two, three, some) minor issue(s) about the
offer that I want to make you aware of. I don't know if you're able to
make changes in this (these) area(s), but I'd surely appreciate your
looking into that possibility. Namely, would it be possible to _____
(name changes)?"
The beauty of this technique is that it provides two things. First, it locks in
your acceptance of the job and takes that acceptance out of the negotiating.
Second, it leaves open additional concessions that may be given to you at no
cost. Please note that most books and articles on negotiating would argue
against "giving away" your greatest negotiating chip--acceptance of the
position. But this argument is correct only if you can afford to lose this chip.
If that's the case and you truly want to "spin the wheel," you can use the
information in Unacceptable Offer Negotiation outlined previously. But you
risk losing the job offer entirely if you choose that approach. By closing out the
offer acceptance portion, you have locked down the one thing you cannot afford
to lose, yet you leave open other areas. Your retained negotiating chip? The
hoped "show of power" on the part of your future boss. Even if your boss is not
able to deliver, the fact that you "turned over" your request to your boss will
make him/her more willing to help you in any future needs. Even if all you get
is exactly what was originally offered, you are given by default a future
negotiating chip.
Why does this technique work? Simple. It's a win/win situation. The key
to any successful negotiation is that each side should stand to benefit. In this
example, the worst case scenario is that you will have the new job you want and
the company will have the new employee it wants. The best case scenario is
that your new boss will feel personally and professionally satisfied because of
his ability to immediately enhance your new position by meeting your additional requests. Even if your boss is not
able to get all (or any) of the concessions, he will feel privileged that you
brought him this issue to handle, and will then feel an obligation (due to guilt?)
to help you in any future requests.
The greatest aspect of this negotiation technique is that it has zero risk (by
securing the job offer acceptance), yet invariably persuades most managers to give in
to some or all of the concession requests. Why? Plain and simple--ego. Your
new manager wants to show that he has the power to make things happen. At
this point, you are both on the same side, working for the same goal. Later in
your career your goals may conflict with your manager's, but at this time, if you
can convince your manager of the value of your request, you will have a strong
advocate on your side.
So if there are areas of the offer you are seeking to "redefine," this is a safe,
effective way to test the waters. The risk is minimal, while the payback can be
significant. It should be noted that this technique cannot be used for significant
offer changes. If you need to make changes of great magnitude, you will
probably have to follow through with the Unacceptable Offer Negotiation.
Good luck! If you successfully applied these negotiation strategies, you
likely just paid for this book--possibly many times (even several hundred
times?) over. So why not use your newfound wealth to buy several copies of
College Grad Job Hunter
to give to all your starving and unemployed college friends who haven't found a job yet?
Or just point them to CollegeGrad.com to read the info online.
