Negotiating Executive

CompensationPractical Insights

Nicola James

Thomas Brooke International

Foundations

When & How

Who

The Offer & The Close

Case Studies: Winners And Losers

Company Dynamics

Recruiters

Foundations of Successful

Negotiation

“Left Brain”

Preparation

Analysis

Strategy

Clarity

Good

negotiator

balances both

“Right Brain”

EQ

Trust building

Patience

#1 Take ownership of the process

Do you want to

negotiate this?

Or shall

we do it

for you?

Involve all stakeholders

Acknowledge anxieties/concerns

Make sure you are in agreement

#2 Have a negotiation road map

Develop strategy/scenarios

Establish your own needs

before entering the process:

• Rank importance and priority

• Know what you’d walk away from - your “must” and

“give” items

• Do NOT assume you will have all information you want

at offer time – know what you really need to know

• Research typical packages for the position – data driven

- think real estate comps

Salary

Annual bonus

Signing bonus

Profit sharing

401(k)/pension

Long-term incentive

Stock

Equity

Relocation support

Typical package components

Health benefits

Vacation

Travel

Title

Promotion/succession

Contract

Severance

Non-compete agreement

#3 Recognize that long-term

relationship & substantive

outcome are both high value –

proceed accordingly

#4 Treat every interaction as part

of the negotiation process

• Research and ask questions

o Strategy

o Motivations

o Values

• Discover leverage and limits

• Build trust – ultimately you are negotiating with people, not

just corporate entities

When And How

To Bring Up The Subject

ASAP to qualify on

basics/ballparks/musts

• Identify strong opportunities

• Avoid wasting time on marginal or poor opportunities

• Position as initiator/leader

Who gives the first number? It

depends…

• Don’t assume it should be the company – frankness often

benefits you

• If you are significantly over/undercompensated currently, better

to lead than follow

• The Anchor number has significance

Ask questions - explore landscape

on the company side

• Find out what you can – every data point is useful

• Qualitative as well as quantitative

• Frame your own priorities accordingly and positively

• LISTEN and remember even the small things

Align with company goals/needs

• Develop/revise value proposition according to their priorities

• Show ROI – investment vs. cost. This is essential!

Share peripheral information such

as priorities/rank order

• Build trust by sharing without painting yourself into a corner

• Gather additional pointers about the other party’s approach

At preliminary/unofficial offer time

exchange “musts”

• If not already discussed, this is critical

• If already discussed, revisit/confirm

• Find out how the process needs to unfold from company side

(e.g. do they even negotiate after an offer?)

Who To Negotiate With

Always with

decisionmaker/influencer-

Never the gatekeeper!

• ID real decisionmakers and stakeholders early – not always

who you think

• OK to use gatekeeper to qualify the opportunity (qualify ≠

negotiate)

• BUT – every interaction with every person counts!

The Offer & The Close

A deal is like a seedling

• Requires nurturing/gentle handling

• Easily damaged by slight fluctuations in surroundings

• Can grow and become strong with the right conditions

How to handle the offer to a

successful close

• Be authentic

• Be straightforward

• Avoid last-minute surprises and additional demands/requests

• Keep all options on the table: not one at a time - need

flexibility

• Keep emotion out – focus on objectives

• Humor can be helpful to defuse tension – but be careful

• Remain engaged – keep dialog going

• Clarify “musts”

• Be prepared to say YES

• Be ready to say NO and walk away

• Be timely – don’t wait too long to give your answer

Case Studies- Winners And Losers

VP Sales & MarketingSmall Company

Winner

• Established clear priorities and needs at the outset

• Researched company and decisionmakers

extensively to find needs and common ground

• Tailored all interactions to support this value prop

• Demonstrated added value in the process

• Trusted

• Remained engaged in negotiations on all points

• Gave on some, held on others

VP MarketingLarge Company

Winner

• Established clear priorities and needs at the outset

• Provided clear evidence of past ROI in similar role

• Sensitive to matrix organization, made case to

multiple stakeholders in different ways

• Recognized there would be little room for

negotiation on major items later – established value

early

• Little substantial negotiation at the end

COOMid-sized Company

Loser

• Stated clear priorities and needs at the outset

• Provided clear evidence of past ROI in similar role

• Failed to understand true decisionmaking structure

• Had wrong assumption of spouse’s position

• Not willing to give on key requirement – did not see

big picture of opportunity

• Offer withdrawn based on concern over judgment

of risk factors

VP R&DLarge Company

Loser

• Unwilling to provide basic qualifying information at

outset but technical fit seemed good

• Demonstrated ROI successfully

• Unwilling to trust

• No give

• When initial preliminary offer was low, did not

engage constructively to find solution

• Offer withdrawn based on concern over cultural fit

When And Why Companies Stray

From Their Original Compensation

Range

Large Company Influence Factors

• Well informed/benchmarked on market

• More rigid comp structures

• LTI or signing bonus

• Strategic initiatives with big ROI may raise the limits

Small-Midsize Company Influence

Factors

• Often less well informed on market

• Sticker shock

• More flexible

Cultural & Historical Influence

Factors

• Entrepreneurial/PE

• Family

• Corporate/bureaucratic/centralized

• Highly regulated/government

• Public/private

• Early stage vs. established

• Parent company HQ – national culture

Other Influence Factors

• Function/level - flexibility may vary

• Supply/demand

• Location, COL etc.

I am uniquely

qualified to

lead your

company

Role Of The Recruiter

• Looking out for client is #1- but overall for the right match!

o Recruiter can be your advocate too

• Influence with decisionmakers

• Keeping eye on prize:

o Who can close?

o Many factors - comp is one - NEED to qualify $$

• Managing expectations – both ways

• Reputation – perceived candidate risk factors play a role

• Authentic & trusting relationship is ideal; trust but verify

Recap• Take ownership

• Be prepared

• Ask questions

• Treat every interaction as negotiation

• Demonstrate relevant ROI

• Collaborate & build trust

• Balance analytical and relational aspects

• Help the recruiter help you

• Take care with the close

THANK YOU!

You can reach me at:

Nicola James

Managing Partner

Thomas Brooke International

www.thomasbrooke.com

nicola@thomasbrooke.com

www.linkedin.com/in/nicolacjames

(888) 896-3330 x22