A successful salary negotiation starts months before you ask your boss for a raise.
If you want to land a higher salary, you need to start talking to your manager about how you can improve your performance and exceed the expectations of your role, rather than just meeting them, three to six months before your performance review.
That's at least according to Ramit Sethi, author of New York Times bestselling book "I Will Teach You To Be Rich," who shared his top salary negotiation strategies with CNBC's Frank Holland during the inaugural CNBC Make It: Your Money virtual event on Dec. 13.
First, Sethi recommended scheduling a meeting with your boss to discuss how they are measuring your success at work, and what they expect from you.
Sethi suggested starting the conversation out like this:
"It's really important to me that I am extraordinary at this job, and I want to know what it's going to take for me to do an extraordinary job. Can we talk about that?"
During that meeting, you and your boss should jointly come up with a list of 2-3 actionable goals to get there.
As you work on those goals, update your boss on your progress every few weeks over email, Sethi said, so you have a record of your performance in writing to reference when you ask for a raise.
When it comes time for your performance review, "Walk in [to the meeting] and say, 'Six months ago, here's what we talked about,'" Sethi said. "'I achieved those things, and I've been updating you [on my progress].'"
You should also research what other people in your position make and share those results with your boss, he said.
Sethi suggested the following script:
"I've looked at what other people in my position are making, and I'd like to discuss a compensation adjustment."
"You don't need to be confrontational — negotiation is a dance," Sethi noted. If your boss says they can't increase your pay, it might be because they don't have the "budget or power" to do so, he says.
"That's OK," Sethi added. "But what it means for you is that you need to make a decision on whether you want to stay in that job or not."
Check out:
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