By Lauren Broussard, Co-Founder, The Memo

This article previously appeared on The Memo —

“Salary negotiation should be win-win. Your boss wants to motivate you to continue to do well if you’re a strong performer.”

Angelina Darrisaw Cheeks, Founder and CEO of C-Suite Coach, understands the value of negotiation from both an employer and an employee perspective. A New York native, she began her career in digital media for ESPN, and has worked at other companies like Viacom and HBO. Through C-Suite Coach, Angelina now works with employers to create and facilitate training seminars that engage millennial employees both personally and professionally.

Angelina Darrisaw Cheeks

Angelina, who is a powerhouse speaker and fan favorite at our Career Boot Camps, sat down with us to offer some tips on more effective negotiation:

1. Be Confident In Your Own Worth:

“A barrier that holds many back from negotiating is feeling that they don’t have power or leverage or even that they aren’t worth it,” says Angelina. Her advice is that confidence goes a long way, though it will look different for every individual. Understand what makes you feel most confident, whether it’s specific work contributions, having leverage (i.e. another job in hand), or even wearing a particular outfit, and use that to your advantage. Lastly, call on the times in your life when you’ve negotiated well in the past. “Remember that you are CAPABLE!”

2. Understand Your Motivations for Asking:

It’s important, Angelina says, to “really understand, for yourself, why you need more and why you’re asking for more.” Having this understanding better equips you to have difficult negotiation conversations. She also suggests going into the negotiation with a plan for either outcome, yes or no. If you receive a no, Angelina suggests not being afraid to ask for a concrete plan to move it to a yes in the future.

3. You Can Negotiate More Than Just Salary:

You can also negotiate things like time, benefits, and professional development opportunities. Angelina tells a story of how she made a case for a $10,000 coaching training at a recent job. “I had to be willing to give a little, and . . .  I had to creatively explain how [this opportunity] added value to the entire department.” In her training, she said she learned to be a better manager, serve her clients better, and be more attuned to listening, all of which served her well in future roles, and especially in launching her company, C-Suite Coach.

4. Practice, Practice, Practice!

“We are negotiating things every day in different parts of our life . . . practice negotiating everything,” Angelina says. “You have to be in the habit of running the ship the way you want to run it.” Angelina also suggests being intentional about researching and learning what has worked in the past for others. Sign up for salary negotiation training, do your research, and get in a space where you can “remove the emotion, and focus on the business case.” Lastly, she suggests practicing before a salary negotiation with a friend that won’t go easy on you, and will get you ready for a potentially difficult conversation.

5. Finally, believe that the other person also wants you to win. Again, “Salary negotiation should be win-win. Your boss wants to motivate you to continue to do well if you’re a strong performer.”

C-Suite Coach is a career coaching platform that “provides accessible professional development content and resources to diverse, millennial professionals.” Angelina’s team partners with companies to retain and engage millennials, offering seminars on a variety of topics. To learn more about C-Suite Coach and Angelina, visit: www.thecsuitecoach.com and www.angelinadarrisaw.com.

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