A few years ago, I hired a staff and offered him a monthly salary of RM3,700. He decided that he was worth RM4,500 and wouldn't budge. The company I was with, didn't have any more flexibility on the salary, so I couldn't match his ask.
I could have said, "That's all I can offer. Take it or leave!". He could have said, "Yeah, me too!". We would be banging our heads like mountain goats. We would be opposing each other.
But negotiations shouldn't be Win-Lose.
When 1+1 = 3
You've probably heard someone talk about synergy – where "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.".
In other words, one plus one equals three.
What if instead of opposing each other, we find solutions to the problem of meeting both of our needs?
Coming back to the story, despite every discussion, the talent and I were still far apart on salary. Then I told him, "Maybe we can move off the discussion on salary, and find other forms of compensation that might meet your needs".
He nodded his head.
Together, we reworked the agreement, taking into account my needs and limitations, including his.
We started moving away from a Win-Lose area of salary, to using leverage in other areas where I had more flexibility.
After a give-and-take discussion, I set up a situation in which although he receives only RM3,700 monthly salary, he'll receive compensation in other forms:
- Commissions on sales achieved.
- Profit sharing on additional projects.
- Remote working. Only 3 mandatory office days a week.
- Flexible working hours & days.
- Flexibility to run a non-conflicting side business, and use the company's resources.
- Year-end group bonuses.
He ended up working nearly 3 years with me, and there were months I remember processing payslips that were 2X more than what he initially asked for.
In the end, we both came out as winners.
Today – seek a Win-Win situation with your clients and partners.
In partnership with Owners Circle
Our friends at Owners Circle are organizing their yearly summit, Business Growth Summit, where you'll listen to keynotes, network, and join their highly-exclaimed live workshop.
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We'll be there on the first day. See you.
