The Negotiation ARMS Technique
Excuse
FIND YOUR DREAM JOB
An I Will Teach You to Be Rich Production
The Negotiation ARMS Technique:
“It’s not in our budget.”
“Unfortunately we can’t afford to pay more in
this economy.” actually look at it as an investment in finding the
“We pay all our [Job Title] employees this
much.” Having comparable pay among employees of a
“We have a standard process for determining
who makes what, and this is the number we
came up with.” demonstrated that what I bring to the table goes
“Why don’t we discuss this in six months?” “We can certainly revisit this in the future, and
Agree, Reframe, Make the Case, Shut up!
“I understand, of course -- times are tough. And
I agree that for an average candidate, the budget
would definitely be a good place to start. But I fully
intend to make an above-average contribution, and I
think I’ve demonstrated a track record for doing so.
I’d simply ask that the compensation reflect that.”
[Silence]
“I totally get that. Times are tough. But I would
right candidate for the position. In fact, I think that’s
even more important in a down economy, because
the right person can help you turn that around --
and that’s exactly what I intend to do. Keeping that in
mind, what can we do here?” [Silence]
“I totally understand where you’re coming from.
similar job title is definitely important, because
if word gets out that one person is being paid
more than another, it could negatively affect team
dynamics -- I get that. On the other hand, I do think
there’s a bit of a gap here, and I need to consider the
fair market rate I’ve been seeing elsewhere, which
is really in the $X-Y range. What can we work out in
this range?” [Silence]
“Of course. A standard process definitely
makes sense as a starting point. Yet, I think I’ve
above and beyond the standard candidate -- for
example, we discussed X, Y and Z. So I’d like to
discuss a range of compensation that reflects that
difference.” [Silence]
I appreciate you being open to that. I totally
understand the need to evaluate based on
performance. That being said, I would like to take
some time and discuss this a bit further today,
because -- while a conversation in 6 months would
be great -- I would still be taking a risk coming in at
this level of compensation. I’m not saying I need $X,
but I do need to come in at a level of compensation
that offsets that risk and reflects my current level of
experience.” [Silence]
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