The tactical playbook for getting 20-40% more comp (without sounding greedy) | Jacob Warwick (Executive Negotiator)
Jacob Warwick, an executive negotiation coach, shares tactical advice for negotiating compensation. He emphasizes treating job searches like enterprise sales, understanding power dynamics, and using collaboration over confrontation to secure significantly higher compensation.
Deep Dive Analysis
19 Topic Outline
Introduction to Jacob Warwick and Negotiation Philosophy
Amount of Compensation People Leave on the Table
Overcoming Fear of Negotiating and Perceived Greed
Advice for Founders and Hiring Managers on Compensation
Biggest Mistakes People Make When Negotiating Compensation
Controlling the Negotiation Environment and Timing
Step-by-Step Approach to Negotiating a Job Offer
Who Should Speak First About Compensation Expectations
Understanding Power and Information Asymmetry in Negotiation
Breaking Salary Bands by Focusing on Problem Solving
Selling the 'Vacation': Visualizing Success for the Hiring Company
Positioning Yourself Like a Product and Eliminating Friction
Flipping the Interview to Extract Information and Build Leverage
Tactical Tips for Negotiating Compensation
What to Do When Negotiations Go Sideways
Why Negotiation is Different for Every Individual
Hollywood Negotiation Stories and Creative Solutions
First Step After Receiving a Job Offer
Jacob's Personal Mission and Final Thoughts
6 Key Concepts
Information Asymmetry
This refers to the imbalance of knowledge in a negotiation, where one party (typically the company) possesses significantly more information about market rates, budgets, and internal processes than the other (the candidate). This imbalance puts the candidate at a disadvantage, highlighting the need for strategic information gathering.
Home-Field Advantage
This concept suggests that negotiating in an environment where you feel most comfortable and in control (e.g., your preferred time, a neutral location like a coffee shop, or even a walk) can significantly improve your performance. It allows you to set the tone and read body language more effectively than in the company's office.
Selling the Vacation
Instead of focusing on past accomplishments, this strategy involves guiding the hiring manager to visualize a future where the candidate has successfully solved their key problems. By painting a picture of a 'utopian situation' and showing how the candidate will lead them there, it creates an emotional connection and makes the candidate indispensable.
Reciprocity Imbalance
This psychological principle involves intentionally providing value or assistance to the other party, creating an unspoken obligation for them to return the favor. In negotiation, this can be done by making helpful introductions or offering insights, making the other party more inclined to be agreeable later.
Tactical Empathy
While sounding manipulative, this involves understanding the motivations, fears, and needs of the other party in a negotiation. By acknowledging their perspective and appealing to their desired reputation or values, you can steer the conversation and outcomes more effectively.
Haste Equals Risk
This principle emphasizes the importance of slowing down the negotiation process. Rushing can lead to missed opportunities for gathering crucial information, understanding underlying motivations, and crafting a more compelling case, ultimately increasing the risk of a suboptimal outcome.
8 Questions Answered
Even a simple pushback like 'What's the chance there could be a little more here?' often leads to a 20% improvement on an offer. With professional negotiation, clients typically see about a 40% increase, with some cases reaching 100-400%.
Negotiation starts much earlier than you think, often with your LinkedIn profile, resume, and initial conversations with recruiters. Everything you communicate publicly and privately contributes to how you are perceived and valued.
Common mistakes include not understanding when negotiation starts, hiding behind email for sensitive conversations, negotiating through recruiters (playing 'telephone'), negotiating with the wrong person, and being afraid to ask for more due to fear of appearing greedy or losing the offer.
Ideally, you should try to avoid sharing a number first. Instead, express discomfort due to not fully understanding the role's scope and ask the company what they had in mind or what the range looks like. This prevents anchoring too low.
To break salary bands, focus on understanding the company's pain points and position yourself as an enterprise solution that will solve those critical problems. By demonstrating the significant value you can create, you can justify a higher compensation package that goes beyond the typical range for the role.
By asking discovery questions about the company's challenges, what excites them about the role, and what success would look like, you extract valuable information. This allows you to control the narrative, position yourself as a problem-solver, and build a compelling case for your unique value.
First, express gratitude and enthusiasm for the offer, indicating you're excited to move forward. Then, ask for a few days to review it with family or advisors. This shows confidence and creates space to strategize your pushback without appearing overly eager or ungrateful.
No, it's not always about money. Sometimes, factors like respect, autonomy, specific projects, or even non-monetary perks can be more valuable. Understanding the other party's true motivations and what they value can unlock creative solutions beyond just cash.
15 Actionable Insights
1. Shift to Collaborative Mindset
Frame negotiation as a collaborative problem-solving process, not a confrontation. Visualize working side-by-side with the hiring manager to find a solution that benefits everyone, breaking down barriers and encouraging information sharing.
2. Deflect Early Compensation Questions
Avoid stating your desired salary first. Instead, deflect the question by saying you’re uncomfortable sharing a number until you understand the full scope of the role, then ask what they had in mind or what the range looks like.
3. Negotiate In-Person or Video
Never negotiate over email. Opt for video calls or in-person meetings to control your tone, read body language, and adapt your approach in real-time, which is crucial for high-stakes conversations.
4. Treat Job Search as Enterprise Sales
Approach your job search like an enterprise sales process. Understand the hiring manager’s pain points, build champions within the organization, and design solutions that directly address their needs, positioning yourself as a valuable asset.
5. Sell the ‘Vacation’ Vision
Help hiring managers visualize a utopian future where their critical problems are solved because of your contribution. Force them to imagine a painless situation and who was right next to them doing that work.
6. Practice Patience in Negotiation
Slow down the negotiation process, as haste equals risk. Taking a couple of days to respond allows you to collect more information, strategize, and build a stronger, more compelling case for your value.
7. Anchor High (If Re-Anchoring)
If you must state a number, anchor significantly higher than your true expectation. Studies show that those who anchor egregiously high often win substantially more, as companies tend to split the difference.
8. Leverage ‘If You Were In My Shoes?’
When negotiations stall or you need to uncover possibilities, ask, ‘If you were in my shoes, what would you do?’ This question can reveal hidden levers or challenge assumptions by appealing to shared experience.
9. Proactively Address Objections
During interviews, ask about potential concerns or areas where other candidates excelled. This allows you to address perceived gaps directly and demonstrate your ability to meet their needs, rather than waiting for feedback after the fact.
10. Control the Narrative
Influence what others say about you by asking direct questions about their impressions or desired outcomes. For example, ask the interviewer, ‘Is this a slam dunk?’ or ‘What will you say about me to your committee?’
11. Seek Creative Compensation
Don’t limit negotiations to base salary and equity. Explore non-traditional compensation elements like performance incentives, milestone triggers, or unique company perks that can add significant value.
12. Contact Hiring Manager Directly
If a recruiter presents a ‘final’ offer you want to challenge, bypass them and directly contact the hiring manager. Express your enthusiasm for the role and ask if they are ‘open to a quick chat’ about a ‘sticking point.’
13. Take Extreme Ownership in Setbacks
If negotiations go sideways or an offer is rescinded, approach the situation with honesty, integrity, and take extreme ownership of any perceived missteps. This can rebuild trust and potentially salvage the opportunity.
14. Always Push Back (Even Slightly)
Even a simple, non-aggressive pushback like ‘What’s the chance there could be a little more here?’ often results in a 20% increase in compensation, so always try to negotiate.
15. Build Scarcity and Control
Manage your availability for meetings and proactively suggest next steps in the interview process. This demonstrates your value, control, and can make you a more attractive candidate.
7 Key Quotes
The simplest advice is what's the chance there could be a little more?
Jacob Warwick
If you're positioned as a commodity, you will be treated like a commodity.
Jacob Warwick
Just because it's uncomfortable doesn't mean you don't need to do it. It just means you don't know how to do it.
Jacob Warwick
Never be so sure of what you're worth that you wouldn't accept more.
Jacob Warwick
If you have the ability to say no, you have infinite power.
Jacob Warwick
I'm not asking for you to take your pie and give them a bigger slice. I'm asking for you to work with somebody to expand the pie so everybody gets bigger slices.
Jacob Warwick
The more confident you get, the shorter your communication gets.
Jacob Warwick
3 Protocols
Responding to a Job Offer and Initiating Negotiation
Jacob Warwick- Express gratitude and enthusiasm for the offer, showing confidence that the deal will get done.
- State your intention to review the offer over the next couple of days (e.g., 'talk to my wife/advisor').
- Communicate that you may have a couple of questions upon review, but imply it shouldn't be a problem and you expect to start soon.
- After a few days, initiate a conversation (preferably video or in-person) with the hiring manager (the person with skin in the game), not just the recruiter.
- State that the offer is 'a little lighter than I expected' or 'I don't feel comfortable moving forward as it stands now,' and then wait for their response.
- If they ask what you had in mind, ask them about the full range for the role and what performance is expected at each level, or what the top end of the range looks like and what you need to do to meet those needs.
Flipping the Interview for Leverage
Jacob Warwick- Start by asking if they are open to a consultation or brainstorming session instead of a traditional interview.
- Clarify why you are in the room by asking what excites them about you and what value they expect.
- Use labeling to identify their challenges (e.g., 'It sounds like you have a challenge with this product line...').
- Ask discovery questions about what they've done about the problems, how big the problem is, and what they've tried.
- Help them 'sell the vacation' by asking them to visualize a utopian future where the problems are solved, and you were instrumental in that success.
- Proactively suggest who else you should speak with in the organization (e.g., head of engineering, VP of marketing) and ask what message they want you to convey, effectively building champions and gathering more information.
Navigating a Rescinded Offer (Specific Scenario)
Jacob Warwick- Call the CEO or main decision-maker directly.
- Explain what happened, sharing that you hired a coach and received advice that led you to act out of character (e.g., being overly aggressive).
- Share that you disagreed with the advice but tried it anyway because you felt the need to advocate for yourself, implying a shared struggle or identity.
- Express regret for the misstep and emphasize your true desire to work with them.
- Take extreme ownership of the mistake and be authentic and transparent about the situation.