Negotiate your salary like an asset

For most working-age households, salary is the engine, not the portfolio. A single 7% raise is worth more than a decade of careful fee optimisation — and it compounds, because every future raise is calculated from the new base, and most retirement contributions are a percentage of pay.

Yet most people get a 2% inflation adjustment and call it a raise. Real salary growth is engineered, not granted. The good news: the script is short, the leverage is huge, and the worst case is "no" — which costs nothing.

Step 1 — Document outcomes, not tasks. Keep a running file of measurable results: revenue moved, costs cut, deals closed, projects shipped, hires made, decisions you owned. With numbers attached. "Led the migration" is weak; "led migration that cut hosting cost from 80k/mo to 30k/mo" is unanswerable. This is your case file.

Step 2 — Anchor with market data. Pull comparable role salaries from three independent sources: a public salary database, a recruiter conversation (15 minutes on LinkedIn is enough), and one peer at another company in the same role. Three data points become a defensible range; one becomes a wish.

Step 3 — Ask in writing, with a specific number and a deadline. A hallway "I think I deserve more" gets nothing. A short email referencing two outcomes, the market range, your specific target, and a two-week response window gets a meeting. A meeting gets a decision. The email is the actual negotiation; the meeting is the closing ritual.

Step 4 — Negotiate the whole package, not just the base. If base is capped, ask for: signing bonus, equity refresh, accelerated review cycle (6 months instead of 12), explicit promotion timeline, training budget, remote days, extra vacation. Total compensation is the number that matters. A "no" to base often becomes a "yes" to two of the rest.

Common mistakes: • Naming a number first when the employer's range is unknown — let them anchor, then push. • Citing personal need ("rent went up") instead of business value — that is a different conversation. • Negotiating once and then waiting two years to do it again — annual is the minimum cadence. • Treating "no" as the end. "No, not now" plus a specific written milestone is a yes in slow motion.

What success looks like: A documented outcomes file, three market data points, a specific target number, and a written request sent with a two-week response window — at least once every 12 months.

Checklist: • Outcomes file with numbers, last 12 months • 3 market data points gathered • Specific target number ready • Written request sent with a 2-week response window • Total compensation negotiated, not just base