Wanna Earn More Money in an Easy Way? Learn How to Negotiate

I’m spilling the secret to how I earned an extra $8,000 in the last six months with virtually no extra effort.

Wanna know how to convince people to give you more money?

Step 1: Ask for more money.

Step 2: Do it again.

Step 3: Profit.

Seriously, it’s that simple. I promise.

Don’t know how or why to ask? Keep reading.

Introducing: The Power of Negotiation

Here’s the breakdown on how I made my extra $8,000 (and counting) this year — in no time at all.

Okay, maybe it took me like, five extra minutes.

If we’re being technical, at the rate of $1,600 a minute (or $8,000 per five minutes) that means I negotiate at the rate of $96,000 per hour.

Which is a pretty good gig, actually. Not shabby.

Sigh, if only this were scalable. At least I can work from home.

But for real, let’s get into the math and I’ll reveal my secrets.

All I ask is that you keep reading. Deal? Deal.

The Breakdown

• Negotiating for $10,000 more on a job offer = $5,000 extra in just 6 months.
• Negotiating for $1,000 more per month on a 3 month contract gig = $3,000 extra.
• …That’s it!

Bam, $8,000 that would have been left on the table.

What would have happened if I wouldn’t have asked for more money?

Well, I probably would have $8,000 less dollars. Shudder.

It might seem simple, but the act of negotiation (which can often take under 30 seconds) can literally save you tens of thousands of dollars over time.

Throw a whole lifetime into the mix, maybe some stock investing (thanks to your newly acquired extra funds) and this can compound to hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.

I know what you might be thinking. Doesn’t everyone do this already?

Well, if you already do, then congrats! You must be one of the 42% of Americans that negotiated their most recent job offer (according to CNBC.)

If you’re part of the 58% that didn’t, I’m here to help — and I promise it’s not too late!

Four reasons why negotiation is great:

#1: It builds confidence.

The more you ask for things, the more you realize people usually say yes way more often than they say no.

When you feel comfortable asking for what you’re worth during a negotiation, asking for other things you want in life starts to seem much less daunting.

#2: As you define your own worth, you learn more about yourself.

Embracing negotiation shifts the narrative from “I’m worth whatever else someone is willing to pay me” to “I’m worth this much, whether or not someone appreciates my value, or can afford to pay fairly for the value I provide.”

This helps with self-awareness, too. Having to define your own worth means you first need to know your strengths and weaknesses.

In a negotiation, it’s crucial to know what you bring to the table. Do your homework, come prepared, and the confidence will follow.

#3: You realize hearing “no” isn’t the end of the world.

No can mean “Not now, but soon.”
No can be a beautiful thing, and a new beginning.
No opens up new opportunities that you might not have noticed with a “yes.”
No can mean “You are destined for something greater. Go find it”

I’m not the only one that feels this way about a certain two letter word. Christopher Voss, a former FBI negotiator and bestselling author constantly speaks to the power of no. This article is a great read introducing “No-oriented questions” and their power as a negotiation tactic.

#4: By asking for more money once, you can set yourself up to automatically earn more money in future situations.

Let’s put it in perspective: If your first job offers to pay $25k/year, but you negotiate your salary up to $35k/year, asking for an extra $10k in your next job doesn’t seem as daunting. It would be easy to make $45k (or more) without needing any more experience or education. You’ve already done the “scary” part of negotiating once, and to your surprise, they happy obliged. It’s all up from here!

However, someone previously accepting the initial $25k offer without negotiating might not dream of asking for $45k in their next job. The gap seems too large, and they may worry about asking too much. After volunteering their previous salary to a new employer, they might be stagnant at their $25k salary for years, never knowing what else is waiting for them.

The difference of a few thousands dollars might not seem like a crazy amount of money initially, but again, think about this compounding over the course of a lifetime. The best time to start asking what you deserve is right now.

Still wanna read more? Me too. Time for some bonus content!
Here are some book recommendations that expertly deal with negotiation.

1. Never Split The Difference.

Written by: Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz, 2016.

I reference this book all the time, for good reason. I absolutely love this book and it’s one of the first ones that got me interested in the world of negotiation. Practically overflowing with vivid, relevant stories and actionable tactics, it’s no wonder that Never Split The Difference became a Wall Street Journal best seller. You won’t regret this read.

2. Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want.

Written by: Sara Laschever and Linda Babcock, 2009.

Hi, ladies! This one’s for you. Men, I guess you can read it too. Everyone else in between is also welcome to check it out! This book is aimed towards women, since a lot of us don’t know how to negotiate (especially nice girls) but I believe anyone can benefit from it. It’s like a nice pep talk in book form and it’s a great starting point for learning the “how” and “why” of unapologetically asking for what you want and not feeling bad about it.

If anyone else knows of any negotiation books to add to the repertoire, please reach out and share them with me. I’d love to add some new titles to this post! The best way to say hi is probably by sliding in my Twitter DMs @adriannalakatos.

If you’re someone that already negotiates frequently, I hope this post will inspire you to continue. If you’ve always been afraid of negotiating, I hope you’ll try it sometime. You deserve to ask for what you want.

What do you have to lose?

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