First of all, Ramit Sethi is a New York Times best-selling author and creator of I Will Teach You to Be Rich website. In his weekly video Q&A, Ramit answers common questions about personal finance, careers, and more. This week, Ramit shares his Briefcase Technique, a tried and true method for successfully negotiating your salary.
Most of us don’t negotiate with our bosses, our clients, or even our cable companies. Why? We know we’re leaving money on the table, but we’re not sure what to say. We don’t want it to be awkward. And what if they say no? Sometimes, we also want to be polite by not saying about salary. This excuse especially true for Asian people. It is completely taboo to talk about salary to the employer. Not just because of the culture itself, but also most of the Asian people are very sensitive in term of the money.
One of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible is found in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount when He discusses giving. Here is what He actually says: Matthew 6:1-4, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
As shown on the bible passage above, it still applies to most of the people these days, that when you are giving or receiving something, especially money, don’t let everyone knows and keep it secret.
However, for me personally, I was basically averse to negotiate. This is quite different with what Ramit Sethi said on salary negotiation using briefcase technique.
Notice a few things here.
First, this isn’t just for negotiating salary. You can use this technique for job interviews, client discussions (for freelancers), and virtually any other type of negotiation.
Second, when Ramit Sethi initially released this technique publicly, it got re-posted on a discussion forum, where people said things like “yawn” and “He could really use a professional clear plastic binder too.”
The Briefcase Technique forces you to do your homework before you ever set foot in the room. You’ll need to truly understand the hopes, fears, and dreams of the other person—whereas most people walk into an interview and simply “answer questions” or into a salary negotiation and “ask for a raise.”
Truly and most likely 80% of the work happens before you walk in the room.
You do this by studying the needs of the other person—not simply writing down what you want. What does the hiring manager really want? What do they fear? What if you gave them a 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day plan before you walked down the interview room?
If you do, you’ve just separated yourself from 99% of other applicants. And when you do your homework, the Briefcase Technique can produce powerful results. If you’re curious about the exact words and body language to use in a negotiation, check out the exact words to negotiate your salary on the video below.