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Comment by marvin | Hacker News Reader

"Start with your number $X+80%, then"

Norwegian here: I've previously read self-improvement books written by Americans that state advice that gives me the same vibes as this one, specifically a feeling of this being a very bad idea. I'm almost certain that starting a salary negotiation with a demand 80% higher than my actual goal would either get me laughed out of the room, or a polite "you're too expensive for us, goodbye".

I get the impression there's a major cultural aspect to this, with negotiation tactics that are considered acceptable or not in each culture. Does anyone have any experiences confirming or denying this? I don't think I'll stake my reputation in this small-ish city on trying this out.

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It's supposed to be outrageous. This is called "anchoring" so when the counterparty brings you down to your desired salary he thinks "he won". That way, they aren't mad and return to the guy for another negotiation where, presumably, he does it to you again.

Not sure if this is a cultural thing, but from my experience most salespeople and lawyers in america employ this tactic (and many others like htem!), so I recommend everyone on HN read these books to know when you're being taken advantage of. Merely identifying the tactic often neurtralizes it in any real world way.

The author addresses this point. Giving a single number may indeed be "harsh" in some occasions. His suggestion is to instead use a range, which makes you seem more reasonable and won't put the other person on the defensive. I actually did use a range, forgot to mention that in my original comment.

For example, you can phrase it as "At top places like $ExampleOne, $ExampleTwo, people in my position earn between $X+80%, X+100%". You then go from there. You can also lower the start of the range or increase the end of the range, make that gap wider. Every employer will go to the initial range given and try to bring you down on it because of "excuses". you are allowed to go down up to 3 times by 10-15%, with the "say no without saying no" technique. At the end, you give the non-round number (e.g 134,567$ per year) which gives the impression you put some thought into it.

Another thing he mentioned is that money is not everything. Ask for more days or perks. If they can't meet you on those they might instead bump your salary.

It's also about putting in a bit of theatrics. For example, when I gave my final number for my salary I paused and said "give me a moment" and scribbled something on a piece of paper. After that I said my non-round number. It worked.

No technique is fool-proof. All it takes though is for it to work most of the time.

It is 80% less than you minimum not your goal - but the 80% does have to be a believable salary.

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