I love helping women get more out of their negotiations. The question I’m asked most frequently by women is some version of, “but what do I say?”.

For anyone who may be wondering that, we’ve put together a collection of scripts our clients have used in the past. These follow the research on what works, but take it one step further, giving you the exact wording others have successfully used.

Asking for a promotion:
As you know, I was able to deliver 10% over my sales targets last year, which helped the team reach our goals. I believe I can do that again this year, but I would need a VP title to access the right decision makers.

Asking for administrative support:
(Insert Past Accomplishments). If I had additional administrative support, I could grow my accounts by x%

Asking for one-time flexibility:
(Insert Past Accomplishments). Unfortunately, my grandfather just passed away and my grandmother isn’t taking care of herself. Naturally, this is distracting. I’d like to work from her home for the month so that I can ensure she’s eating and going to her appointments. I will still put in my regular hours, and I’ll be able to focus much better.

Asking for continued flexibility:
(Insert Past Accomplishments). I can do even better this year. I’d like to discuss moving to a four-day workweek. I believe you’ll see my productivity and creativity increase, and my stress decrease. I’m open to you choosing the day off based on what is best for the team. What do you think?

Asking for a raise:
As you know, last year I delivered 10% over my annual target. I think I can hit 15% this year, but to fully focus. I recently came across this benchmarking study and was surprised to see the average in my role is 10% higher than my current pay, even though I’m a top performer. How can we close that gap?