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🀝 Selling & marketing · E-book

Asking For More Money

Preparing, holding and following up a pay conversation

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Asking For More Money

Preparing, holding and following up a pay conversation

A4 Β· this is a layout preview in the β€œMidnight” design. When you generate, the studio writes every chapter in full, paints the cover and chapter art, and composes a downloadable A4 PDF with your name, bio and store link on it.

8 chapters32-40 pagesTone: directFor employees who have never asked for a rise

Pay conversations feel personal, which is why so many people avoid them and then leave. This book treats the request as a piece of work with a preparation stage, a meeting and a follow-up, each with its own tasks. You will gather evidence you can defend, choose a number and a floor, rehearse the awkward middle of the conversation, and know what to do with any of the three answers you might get.

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What's inside

  1. 1Why the Ask Is Not RudeAddresses the discomfort directly and reframes the request as a normal part of employment rather than a favour. You will be able to state, in one sentence, why the conversation is reasonable.
  2. 2Building the Evidence FileShows how to collect results, responsibilities added and problems solved over the last year, with dates and named outcomes. You will finish with a one-page record you can update quarterly.
  3. 3Finding the Market RateCovers where to look for comparable pay, how to weigh recruiter conversations and public ranges, and how to allow for location and sector. You will end with a range you can source rather than a figure you feel.
  4. 4Choosing Your Number and Your FloorExplains how to set the figure you ask for, the figure you would accept, and the point at which you would look elsewhere. You will write all three down before any meeting is booked.
  5. 5Timing and the Right RoomCovers budget cycles, review calendars and the difference between raising it in passing and booking a proper conversation. You will pick a date and send the meeting request.
  6. 6The Conversation ItselfGives a plain structure for opening, presenting evidence, naming the number and then stopping talking. You will have a script you have said aloud at least three times before the day.
  7. 7Handling No, Maybe and Not YetSets out what to ask for when the answer is not a straight yes, including written criteria and a review date. You will leave every outcome with a specific next step agreed.
  8. 8After the AnswerCovers confirming in writing, keeping the evidence file alive, and deciding calmly whether to start looking. You will finish with a ninety-day plan whichever way the meeting went.

A sample from chapter one

Bring evidence, not feelings

The strongest pay conversations are dull. They consist of a short account of what you have delivered, a range drawn from the market, a specific number, and then silence while the other person responds. What weakens them is the temptation to explain why you need the money. Your rent, your commute and your family's costs are real, but they are not reasons your employer can act on, and raising them shifts the conversation from your work to your circumstances.

So spend your preparation time building an evidence file instead. Write down what you were hired to do, what you now actually do, and three or four things you delivered in the past year with dates attached. Keep each entry to two lines. If you cannot name the outcome, leave it out; a short list you can defend under questioning is worth more than a long one you cannot.

  • Record results with dates and named outcomes, not adjectives about how hard you worked
  • Note any responsibility you have taken on that was not in your original job description
  • Collect written praise from colleagues and clients as it arrives, in one folder
  • Update the file every quarter so you are never building it under time pressure

Key takeaways

  • A pay case is built on what you have delivered and what the market pays, not on what you need.
  • Naming a specific number and then staying quiet is more effective than explaining yourself further.
  • If the answer is not yes, leave with written criteria and a date rather than a vague encouragement.

The studio writes every chapter from this outline, paints the art and hands you a PDF you can sell the same afternoon.

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