Negotiation
- by Holly Burton
Fearless Negotiation Support
For Women Who Want to Earn What They're Worth
Fearless Negotiation Support
For Women Who Want to Earn What They're Worth
Salary Negotiation? Sounds Like Fun!
We stroll into our boss’ office, confident as all heck, hair gleaming like we belong in a 90s shampoo commercial. We ask for the raise we’re sure we deserve, and – surprise! – our boss says yes!
The in-studio audience applauds and confetti rains down from the ceiling as we collect our newly-fattened paycheque and bask in our obvious business savvy.
…wait, is that not how your last negotiation went?
Of course not! Let’s talk about how it really goes down for most of us.
For Most of Us, Negotiation Really Looks Like...
to ask for so you get what you want but don’t offend anybody
Biting Your Nails Yet? Negotiation Can Be Scary!
What if they say no? What if they say no and then fire you? What if they say no and then fire you and then tell all their industry big-wig friends to never hire you again and your career is ruined?
So with all that spinning around in our heads, most of us make our big salary ask with all the confidence of a Dickensian orphan angling their way into an extra serving of porridge and get…neither more porridge nor a raise.
You know it’s bad when you can’t even talk your way into gruel…
WIMDI Negotiation Coaching
We’ll Help You Get Paid
(Without Turning You Into an Arrogant Negoti-Bro)
WIMDI’s Negotiation Coaching will walk you through every step of the (complicated, intimidating, and absolutely essential) salary negotiation process so you can negotiate your salary confidently and get a big raise.
We’ll help you:
- Learn The Essential Negotiation Skills You Need to deftly turn “no” and “maybe” into “yes” and “we’d like to offer you a signing bonus”
- Make a Convincing Case for Your Value by helping you communicate exactly why your work is worth way more than the money you’re asking for
- Finally Ask For – And Get! – The Money You Deserve without getting stymied by complex gender dynamics
Any time I have to negotiate, the first person I text is Holly. I've always had success with Holly's techniques, and she’s helped me double my salary from $130k to $260k in 2 years. I never thought I was capable of having this much financial security in my life!
Masaki | Director, Product Management
Our 5 Steps to a Negotiation So Smooth,
Rob Thomas Writes a Hit Song About It
Rob Thomas Writes a Hit Song About It
#1
Expert Negotiation Tools & Techniques
We’ll teach you easy-to-implement negotiation techniques you can apply right away to gain trust, use your leverage, handle objections, and get better results in every negotiation you take on. You’ll negotiate so well, your boss will come to you for tips.
#2
The Pitch-Perfect Ask
We’ll strategize with you to figure out exactly how much to ask for and how to position your ask to maximize your chances of success. You’ll know exactly how to talk about your skills and results to show off the business value you provide – and why it’s worth those extra zeros on the end of your cheque.
#3
A Step-by-Step Negotiation Flowchart
We’ll get into the weeds and create a detailed flowchart for how your negotiation will go so you’re totally prepared for any weird curveballs your boss throws your way. You’ll go into your negotiation cool as a cucumber and ready to handle absolutely anything like a professional.
#4
Practice, Practice, Practice!
We’ll role-play your negotiation as many times as you need to stop feeling those first-time (or eighteenth time!) jitters so you come across polished and confident. We’ll even practice how to professionally hold your ground or ask for more time to consider, so you don’t accidentally accept a less-than-satisfying offer.
#5
Answers to All Your Questions
We'll give you excellent strategies for every question, concern, or highly-unlikely-but-still-terrifying situation you can dream up. We’ll help you handle any tricky situations that crop up, while preserving both your relationships and your ability to increase your pay.
Our 5 Steps to a Negotiation So Smooth,
Rob Thomas Writes a Hit Song About It
Rob Thomas Writes a Hit Song About It
#1
Expert Negotiation Tools & Techniques
#2
The Pitch-Perfect Ask
#3
A Step-by-Step Negotiation Flowchart
#4
Practice, Practice, Practice!
#5
Answers to All Your Questions
PLUS, Unlimited* Hours & Real-Time Troubleshooting
And even though movie negotiations get done in a single meeting (usually with stone-faced lawyers passing Post-Its across a shiny conference table), real-life negotiations often take place over more than one conversation.
So we’ll be there for phone and text support when you need us — to help interpret cryptic messages, strategize around unexpected surprises, craft stunningly brilliant responses, and make sure you’re successful when you’re in the hot seat.
Just a Few Braggy Numbers…
$800k
in total raises
$30k
average raise
7.5x
client ROI
Just a Few Braggy Numbers…
$800k
in total raises
$30k
average raise
7.5x
client ROI
Imagine a World Where You're
Need Proof It's Possible? See What Our Clients Have to Say
$60k
Before Holly, negotiation felt like walking a tightrope without a safety net. I constantly worried about putting my foot in my mouth and ending up in a worse position. It was nerve-wracking, and I doubted my ability to secure the best deal for my worth.
With Holly, negotiation is a breeze. She has a knack for turning awkward conversations into victories, and she not only puts words in my mouth when I freeze, but also empowers me to speak up for my worth.
Holly’s blend of tactical empathy, industry experience, and humor turned negotiations from stress-inducing to downright enjoyable. Now, I don't just navigate negotiations; I own them.
Scarlett | Account Executive
When I first started working with Holly, I wanted a 5% raise. But working with her on my negotiation made me realize my skills were worth way more.
I asked for 20% and got 15% -- plus a pay scale review and raises for other folks on my team!
Sarah | Civil Engineer
15%
$31k
When I decided to hire Holly, I hadn’t had a substantial promotion or raise in 5 years. I had taken two parental leaves to have my children during that time, and my conversations with my boss left me feeling like there was limited room to negotiate and that advocating for more would ultimately reflect poorly on me.
Working with Holly helped me be more confident. I realized how many different components there are to compensation and how I can use that to maximize my take home pay. I learned how to play the long game, frame my compensation asks as business proposals, and understand the key decision-making drivers for my company.
After years of tiny cost-of-living-only raises, Holly helped me increase my total compensation by $31K!
Jennifer | Senior Geologist
Need Proof It's Possible? See What Our Clients Have to Say
$60k
15%
I asked for 20% and got 15% -- plus a pay scale review and raises for other folks on my team!
$31k
Hey, Let's Talk About ROI
7.5x
I know. I was shocked too. But our clients really do 7.5x their investment when they work with a WIMDI coach on their negotiation. Pretty amazing, right?
But it’s actually even better than that. Because over the course of working on your negotiation, you’ll learn all the skills and techniques you need to successfully negotiate for better pay, not just once, but for the rest of your career.
So every time you want a raise or a new job from now until you retire, you can tap into your WIMDI negotiation lessons to get the salary you deserve.
Hey, Let's Talk About ROI
7.5x
But it’s actually even better than that. Because over the course of working on your negotiation, you’ll learn all the skills and techniques you need to successfully negotiate for better pay, not just once, but for the rest of your career.
So every time you want a raise or a new job from now until you retire, you can tap into your WIMDI negotiation lessons to get the salary you deserve.
FAQ
We’ve worked with women at every level, from individual contributor to VP, across all male-dominated industries including mining, tech, consulting engineering, construction, and more.
Most people’s first thought when it comes to negotiation is base salary, but we work with our clients to negotiate every element of their compensation package, from base salary to bonuses, equity, benefits, vacation, professional development funding. We also love to help our clients negotiate stuff that’s outside of the compensation realm like job title, project scope, team size, departmental budget, and parental leave plans. We’ve even been known to craft an argument for changing obscure contract clauses – think things like intellectual property, and non-compete clauses.
To get someone fully prepped and ready to take on the world, we usually spend 20-30 hours with each of our negotiation clients over the course of a few weeks to three months.
That time allows us to get deep into the technical details of their negotiation, help them plan their ask, and strategize around all the “what if” scenarios they might encounter, and practice, practice, practice so they’re ready for anything on the big day.
We also do shorter-term custom engagements with folks who need laser-focused coaching (or if they’re having a mid-negotiation panic and need help ASAP!).
Our standard packages gives you negotiation support and guidance until the process is complete and you’ve signed your job offer, or for 3 months, whichever comes sooner.
Got a complex negotiation that might take a little longer? Hop on a call with us – we can work something out to spread that support over a longer period if needed.
We mean unlimited hours within (generous) reason.
Our unlimited hours policy means that our coaches will do their best to make themselves available to help you with your negotiation as much as they can to help you achieve the right outcomes.
Had an unexpected conversation with your boss that you need to debrief, like now? We’ll hop on a call. Need an extra session or two to really nail down your totally-convincing-and-not-at-all-existentially-terrified tone of voice when you ask for a bigger salary than you ever imagined possible? We’ll get you in our calendar.
Hoping we’ll hold your literal, actual hand 24/7 for 12 weeks, even while you’re sleeping? Well….that’s where the “within (generous) reason” policy comes into play. We’ve got groceries to buy and a coterie of cats that need dedicated couch time for cuddling! So as important as your negotiation is to us, we might opt to…do a little less than 24/7 on-call shifts.
Basically what we’re saying is we’ll work any request we can into our calendar – as long as it’s reasonable, subject to the coach's calendar, availability, and discretion.
Yeah, we’d ask that too, if we were you! Two of our clients didn’t get a raise after working with us. But even they felt like it was a success:
- One successfully argued to keep the same salary instead of the 10k pay cut she was facing moving to a new role at a new company
- The other wasn’t successful getting her boss to give her a raise… but she found a new job within six months that paid twice as much (damn!)
Not to mention that both of those clients learned all the skills and techniques they need to successfully negotiate for better pay literally for the rest of their careers. So every time they want a raise or a new job, they can tap into their WIMDI negotiation lessons to get what they deserve. We love to see it.
Yeah, probably! There are lots of good books and courses out there focused on teaching you negotiation skills and we highly recommend you read or take any of them that interest you!
There are a couple of key advantages, though, to working with a WIMDI negotiation coach instead of taking a course or reading a book:
- You’ll get customised advice for your unique situation to help you position your ask effectively and maximize your chances for success
- We’ll teach you negotiation techniques directly so you can ask any questions you’ve got rather than lurking in the comments of a MOOC or turning to Google.
- You’ll have an expert on speed dial to help you handle any unexpected twists and turns
- Plus, it’s just fun!
Oh, and if that wasn’t enough:
- When you get your big raise, we’ll send you a top-secret, fun, confidence-boosting gift that you can use as a beacon to stealthily identify other amazing women who have had big #WIMDIwins.
Just The Scary Questions
This is one we’ve heard before! It’s incredibly common for our clients to be worried that the raise they want is on the small side and that paying someone to help negotiate it might wipe it all out.
Here’s a friendly offer from some pro negotiators who have been around this particular block before: Set up a (free!) intro call with us anyways.
The vast majority of our clients start out looking for modest raises. But once they talk to us, do some additional salary research, and get a couple of key insights about how to be bold in their negotiation, almost all of them end up upping their target salary by quite a bit.
We’ve worked with folks who started off looking for a 10k raise…but it turns out that they were under-market by 60k. Wowza.
So get on a call with us and let’s talk it out – there might be more upside than you think.
And if there isn’t, well, we’re not a bunch of money-stealing pirates, so we’ll tell you not to work with us if it’s not going to be a good financial fit for you.
This is possible, but we have to say it’s pretty rare.
Generally speaking, offers don’t get rescinded because people negotiate – unless they do it intolerably. Obviously, if you go into your negotiation guns blazing and insulting your boss’ mother, you’re far more likely to have a poor outcome. Cross that tactic off the to do list!
If you’re concerned about the optics or about potential blowback, we have lots of risk-management techniques we can use to soften your ask (where needed!) and reduce the chances of your offer getting pulled at the last second. We’ll help you find the right blend of firm and flexible to maximize your chances of success, while keeping your risk appetite in mind.
Listen, this has totally happened to our clients before. Not often, mind you! But it has happened – exactly twice. Two of our clients negotiated their butts off and then…didn’t get a raise. Yuck!
But it’s important to note that, even though they didn’t get exactly what they wanted, they turned lemons into lemonade using the skills we taught them:
- One successfully argued to keep the same salary instead of the 10k pay cut she was facing moving to a new role at a new company
- The other wasn’t successful getting her boss to give her a raise… but she found a new job within six months that paid twice as much (damn!)
And don’t forget that both of those clients learned all the skills and techniques they need to successfully negotiate for better pay literally for the rest of their careers – just like you will.
So even if you don’t get the raise of your dreams now, the skills you learn will be valuable for years to come.
Oh my goodness, this happens all the time. At least 30% of our clients do this before working with a WIMDI coach. It happens for all kinds of relatable reasons:
- They get flustered in the moment and blurt out the wrong number
- They work themselves into knots trying to pre-negotiate for the other side so they come to the table with a ‘fair’ initial offer
- They change their mind about what the job is worth after learning more about it, doing some salary research, or figuring out how valuable their skills would be in the role
Don’t worry, my friend! We’ve got all kinds of elegant ways for you to handle this so you can get the money you want without looking like a flip-flopper who got caught unawares. Hop on a call with us and we’ll help you fix it up!
This situation sounds incredibly stressful and dramatic. I mean, damn, if this is what’s at stake you should definitely call us and get some help!
If this is your life coincidentally rendered into punchy FAQ text at the bottom of this page, then please, take up half an hour of our time for free – let’s get this solved for you so you don’t have to suffer! We’ve got your back.
Get ‘Em to Pay You The Big Bucks
(Even if You Only Make The Medium Bucks Now)
(Even if You Only Make The Medium Bucks Now)
We’ll help you make so much money that, even if you divorce your spouse, you’d still be the two richest people in the damn world.