Guerrilla Marking for Job Hunters 2.0 - Jay Conrad Levinson [142]
GUERRILLA INTELLIGENCE
The Good, the Bad, and the Great!
Cindy Kraft
Jack and I started working together during the wind down of his CFO duties post-merger. Like many senior-level finance executives, he held a number of positions over the past 7 years and his positioning, through no fault of his own, was one of a job hopper. Added to his angst was the fact that his salary had taken numerous dives through the various moves.
Jack had set some high goals in anticipation of accepting a new position, including compensation, corporate culture, and relocating to a specific geographic area. He was resolute in his determination to make a right move rather than any move.
Jack built 2 foundational documents that served as the driving mechanisms in deciding whether or not to take the positions he was offered. The first document was value-driven. He identified his top 8 values and analyzed each position offered (including compensation and culture) against those values. The second document was a list prioritized around “must haves,” “wants,” and “frankly, don’t care abouts” in his next role. This was his road map for entering into serious negotiations to get what he wanted.
The “must haves” list contained items he was unwilling to negotiate—they were the items that would “make or break” the deal; the “wants” list contained items he would be willing to negotiate in order to get a “must have”; and his “don’t care abouts” were his ace in the hole. He put these items on the bargaining table and then magnanimously threw them out as he continued to negotiate in the things on his “must have” list.
Through the course of our 9-month journey, Jack received numerous offers that he turned down because they did not meet his requirements and/or his values. The decision to say no took great courage on his part as he remained firm in his desire to make the right move, not a move . . . despite the search taking longer than he anticipated.
With a clear and compelling value proposition, great patience, and hard work, Jack did indeed get his “right” job. He was able to relocate to his desired geographic location with the company paying his relocation costs as well as buying his house in this stalled housing market; ask for and receive the salary he desired, which was well above the salary from his previous position; and also obtain every one of his “must have” perks.
A compelling value proposition and the confidence to clearly articulating his value to prospects enabled Jack to powerfully negotiate his desired compensation . . . and get everything he wanted. Sweet!
Cindy Kraft, The CFO-Coach, www.cfo-coach.com, www.linkedin.com/in/cindykraft/.
■ HOW TO KILL YOUR DEAL
It goes without saying that I respect your judgment—you bought this book—but I need to caution you not to overdo it. It’s easy to get caught in the euphoria of “doing the deal” when you do this type of negotiation only occasionally.
Guidelines for Successful Negotiation
• Don’t immediately agree to the offer. You’ll brand yourself as “light.”
• Don’t give ultimatums. If you adopt a take-it-or-leave-it attitude, they’ll leave it.
• Don’t be negative. Seek win-win resolutions instead; it’ll disarm your opponent.
• Don’t try to renegotiate a point that’s already been agreed to. Trying to reopen a discussion once it is closed brands you as immature and may jeopardize the entire deal.
• Don’t let the employer renegotiate anything unless you get a major concession.
• Don’t discount the help. Let recruiters do their jobs. I once had a candidate who insisted on negotiating directly with the CEO instead of through me. The client and I wanted this guy badly and he knew it, but he never once asked about compensation. In the end, the candidate left $40,000 in base salary and $200,000 in options on the table, and that was just the initial package