How to Negotiate a Raise: A Step-by-Step Guide With Scripts

Why do so many raise conversations fail?

In our workshops at Bodhih Training, we hear the same story in Pune, Leeds, Lagos and Ohio. Someone has had a strong year. They wait for the appraisal meeting, hope their manager notices, and are offered the standard increment. They say thank you and leave frustrated, mostly with themselves.

Three patterns sit behind most of these outcomes. The first is timing: by the time the review meeting happens, the pay budget has often already been divided up. The second is argument: people explain why they need more money (rent, school fees, inflation) rather than why the business should pay more for their work. Need is real and human, but it gives a manager nothing to defend to their own boss. The third is a single-issue conversation. If base salary is the only thing on the table and the answer is 'no budget', the conversation is over.

The good news is that all three are fixable with preparation, and none of them require you to be a confident or forceful person.

When is the best time to ask for a raise?

The best time is before decisions are made. In many organisations that means six to eight weeks before the annual review, but cycles vary, so ask your manager or HR partner informally: 'When are pay and promotion decisions usually made here?' That single question is one of the most useful you can ask all year.

Other good moments include just after you have delivered a visible result, when your responsibilities have clearly grown (for example, you have taken on people or a budget), or when your manager is planning next year's team structure. Poor moments include the middle of a crisis, the day after a company announces cost cuts, or a corridor conversation with no time to think.

• Good: six to eight weeks before the pay cycle closes
• Good: soon after a measurable success
• Good: when your scope has expanded and you can show it
• Poor: during a crisis or immediately after cost-cutting news
• Poor: unannounced, in passing, or by surprise in a group setting

What evidence should you bring?

Think in layers. Each one answers a question your manager will be asked when they try to get your raise approved.

Market evidence answers 'Is this person paid fairly against the market?' Use several reputable sources rather than one website. Government statistics are a good anchor: in the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for hundreds of occupations by state and metro area, and in the UK the Office for National Statistics publishes earnings data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Add established salary surveys, professional body reports and recruiter salary guides for your sector and city. Note a range, not a single number.

Contribution evidence answers 'What did they deliver?' List three to five results from the last twelve months, each with a number or a named outcome: revenue influenced, hours saved, errors reduced, clients retained, people trained.

Scope evidence answers 'Has the job grown?' Show responsibilities you have taken on that were not in your original role. Forward value answers 'What will we get next year?' Managers fund the future as much as they reward the past.

If you want a structure for this, the Raise and Promotion Case Builder in our Ask Better, Get More kit walks through each layer on two fillable pages.

How much of a raise should you ask for?

There is no universal percentage, and anyone who gives you one without knowing your role, location and employer is guessing. Instead, set three figures before the conversation. Your target is ambitious but defensible from the evidence, often somewhere around the middle or upper part of the market range for your level. Your opening is where you start, a little above target, so there is room to move. Your walk-away is the least you would accept now, because it is still better than your alternative.

That alternative matters. Negotiators call it your BATNA, the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement, a term popularised by Roger Fisher and William Ury of the Harvard Negotiation Project. If you have a credible external offer, your alternative is strong. If your alternative is 'stay and keep doing the same job', it is weaker, and you should plan accordingly rather than bluff. Never invent a competing offer; it is easily discovered and damages trust for years.

Remember to compare total compensation: bonus at target, employer retirement contributions, health cover, allowances, equity and learning budgets can add up to a substantial share of what you are paid.

What should you say when you ask for a raise?

Start by requesting the meeting in writing, so your manager can prepare. A short message works: 'Before the review cycle closes, I'd like to talk about my compensation and next steps. I've put together a short summary of what I've delivered this year and how my role has grown. Could we find 30 minutes in the next two weeks?'

In the meeting, lead with value, then the market, then a clear number and a question. For example: 'Over the last year I've led two client implementations on time, trained three new joiners and covered as acting lead for six weeks. My role now includes onboarding. Market data for this role and level in this city puts the range at roughly X to Y. I'd like to move to Z. How does that compare with what you think is possible?'

Then stop talking. Research on anchoring, going back to Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman's work on judgement, shows that the first credible number tends to pull later estimates towards it. Harvard's Program on Negotiation describes how negotiators give too much weight to first numbers and adjust too little from them. A well-justified figure, stated plainly, frames the rest of the conversation. A hesitant 'maybe around, possibly' invites a lower counter before you have finished.

Rehearse once out loud before the real meeting. Ask a trusted colleague or friend to play your manager for ten minutes, and ask them to push back with the two answers you fear most, such as 'everyone is getting the standard increase this year' or 'let's revisit this next year'. Saying your figure aloud a few times makes it far easier to state calmly on the day, and hearing the hard answers in advance means they no longer catch you off guard. Keep a one-page summary of your evidence in front of you, and offer to share it at the end so your manager can use it when they make the case to their own boss.

What if your manager says there is no budget?

Treat 'no budget' as the start of the next part of the conversation, not the end. Separate the facts from the timing. First, ask whether your manager agrees with the evidence about where your pay sits against the market. If they do, you have a shared problem rather than a disagreement. Second, ask what could move now if base pay cannot.

Non-salary options are often easier to approve because they come from different budget lines or carry no permanent cost. A written review in six months with agreed targets turns 'not now' into a dated commitment. A title change can matter a great deal for your next move. A one-off payment, certification funding, flexible working or a larger scope may also be possible. Prepare two or three in advance, so you are not improvising under pressure.

• A written pay review in six months, with specific targets
• A title change that reflects your actual scope
• A one-off bonus or retention payment
• Funding for a course or certification
• Flexible or remote working arrangements
• An earlier effective date for any increase that is approved

How do you follow up after the conversation?

Within a day, send a short email confirming what was agreed: who will do what, by when, and the date of any review. This protects both of you and turns spoken intentions into commitments. Put the review date in your calendar and start collecting evidence against the targets you agreed, so the next conversation is easier.

If the answer was a clear no, ask what would make it a yes in two quarters, write that down and send it back. When budgets loosen, a manager with a written plan in their inbox is far more likely to act on it.

Finally, review how it went. What surprised you? Where did you feel pressure? What would you say differently in the first five minutes? If you want to see where your negotiation skills stand, AssessAll's Negotiation Fundamentals: Concessions, Trades and the Walk-Away assessment gives you a measured starting point, and Jobulary can help you turn the targets from your conversation into a development plan that earns the next raise.

Are there mistakes you should avoid?

A few mistakes come up again and again, and each has a simple fix.

• Check your company policy and local law before discussing or comparing pay with colleagues; rules on pay transparency differ by country and state.
• This guide is practical and educational, not legal advice.