Earn More Money in Your Job

On this episode of Martinis and Your Money, I am talking to Allegra Brantly about one of the hard components financial fitness – making more money. I say all the time that physical fitness and financial fitness are similar in that you only need two things for success. To get physically fit, you need to work more and eat less. To get financially fit, you need to make more and spend less. It sounds easy, but if it was so easy, we’d have a bunch of skinny millionaires running around.For many people, especially women, it’s tough to ask for more and earn more in our current jobs, but that’s actually your easiest path to making more money. Allegra has coached dozens of women to ask for and get more money, and today she is sharing some of her secrets with us. Cheers!

What are we drinking?

Allegra — Matcha latte

Shannon — Coffee

Podcast Notes

  • Allegra has a mission to help 100,000 women believe in and achieve their full-value potential.

  • Her mission is what led her to join the Financial Gym team.

  • She negotiated a $25,000 raise for herself when she was working as a sales associate.

  • That $25,000 raise made her realize she had been severely underpaid before.

  • Allegra used Glassdoor to determine the average salary range for her specific role and used that range in her negotiation.

  • She says a large part of negotiation is putting your number out there as well as setting a date for when you’d like an answer.

  • People are often nervous to rock the boat – but you should be paid appropriately for the work you are doing!

  • Allegra says a lot of her coaching clients make excuses for their companies and for why they haven’t negotiated their salary.

  • Steps to take to negotiate your salary and earn more money include:

  1. Figure out your numbers

    • Get on Glassdoor and type in your title as well as similar titles to get the national and your city average salary range

    • Shannon says she wants her employers to take a self-assessment of their work before they schedule a meeting

  2. Schedule an in-person salary-focused meeting

    • Try to meet with your boss or senior person involved in decision making

    • Don’t provide too much detail for what the meeting is about

  3. Be open, honest, and direct to accomplish your goal for the meeting

    • Set a time for when you would like to receive an answer

    • Remember, everyone is in sales – you are in sales for yourself!

    • If the meeting starts to go off-track, wrap up the conversation as quick as possible and acknowledge you didn’t prepare them for what the meeting was about.

  4. Follow up with whoever you meet with after your meeting

  • Having this conversation will either earn you more money, feedback of the work you have been doing, or better understanding of the company you work for and whether you want to continue working for them.

  • Shannon says to remember the words of Wayne Gretzky, “you miss 100% of the shots you never take.”

  • The fastest, easiest way to make more money is to earn more at your job!

  • Shannon & Allegra agree that the potential for the conversation to be uncomfortable keeps people from negotiating their salaries.

  • You don’t have to only negotiate your salary – there are several other things you can negotiate!

  • Shannon & Allegra bring Claire, a listener of the show, into the conversation to coach her for a real-life situation she is facing with her current salary.

TAKEAWAY: Don’t let a potentially uncomfortable conversation prevent you from getting paid what you deserve. Take the shot and know that no matter what, you’ll walk away with something whether it’s money or a lesson learned.

Connect with Allegra

allegra@fingyms.com

Glassdoor

Have you ever successfully negotiated for more money?