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Salary negotiation is a delicate balance. If the dance is well orchestrated, you can add quite a bit to your salary. If you fail, the employer will back off and find someone cheaper. This dance is not an easy one to perfect and most are afraid to even engage. However, for those brave few who decide to negotiate we’ve create a list of tips to make your success more likely.

He who speaks first loses: Anytime dollar amounts are negotiated, the basic rule applies. He who speaks first loses. If you bring up money, you appear eager, unconfident, or greedy. You are best to focus on the job, the challenges, and how good of a fit you are for the job. Never be the first to spit out a number, let them go first.

Wait until they bring it up: If you are a fit, you’ll have time to talk salary later. Just wait. Once they bring up price, you have a buying question. Now you can close the deal and possibly set your own price.

Past compensation: The basis for most negotiations is your past salary. However, remember that salary isn’t everything. In past positions, if you received bonuses or commissions, they were a part of your compensation. When you talk about compensation, it should usually be your full compensation not just your salary.

Today’s compensation: Before entering into any negotiations understand what the market thinks the job function should cost. This can be done through a number of online resources or resources in your local library. Many websites offer national, regional, and local salary reports based on reported salaries of others filling that same role. Your library may contain even more accurate compensation reports based on numbers in the local area. Each of these will likely give you a high, low, and median salary.

Adjusted compensation: To define your market value even closer, you’ll have to adjust the public compensation statistics to reflect the additional value you bring to the table. Consider your experience, reputation, network, and involvement in the community. Each of these can impact that salary positively or negatively.

Following these steps may help you evaluate your true market value. From there you will be able to defend your salary position wisely and understand when to compromise during negotiations.

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