How I got 3 pay rises in 1 year

Join thousands of managers getting weekly leadership tips in their inbox

Here’s how my salary increased over the years:

• 2016: £21k (first managerial role, little to no experience, team of 8)

• 2018: £28k (Changed company - marketing exec role - Not managerial)

• 2019: £35k + £3k bonus (Promotion to Marketing manager - Team of 3)

• 2020: £45k - No bonus (Promotion to Operations Director- Team of 12)

• Jan 2021: £55k - No bonus (Same job - Team of 15)

• Sept 2021: £75k + £12k bonus (New company [FTSE100] - Team of 20)

• Jan 2022: £85k + £19k bonus (Same job - Team of 30)

• Sept 2022: £120k + £40k bonus (Same job - Managing 5 teams)

• July 2023 - Left to set up my own business (call me crazy)

From 2019 onwards, none of those increases were ‘given’ to me

I fought for them, it wasn’t always easy, and this email is going to show you how, from a managerial POV, you can be in complete control of your salary too

Before I get going I want to make it very clear - Whilst I am about to give you the exact method, scripts and ways I got these raises, reading this email today isn’t going to change anything

The magic pill you’re looking for is in the conversations you’re currently avoiding. The only way you can make change is by digging deep and finding the courage to take the action that most others never will.

Summary:

• The problem

• Being proactive: The actions you need to be taking all the time

• The conversation: Exactly when and how to get the salary you deserve

• Being reactive: What to do when you’re told ‘there’s no budget’

The problem

Last week alone I got 5 messages from managers across the globe, unhappy with their pay

These 2 described the most common issues well:

We seem to be:

• Given more responsibility with little to no increase in pay

• Being made empty promises

• Confused as to what a manager’s salary should actually look like

Being proactive: The actions you need to be taking all the time

Before we get into the scripts, there are a couple of really important actions I took every month to line myself up well for the ‘yes’ when I eventually asked for the pay rise

1. Build a LOUD list
   Document EVERYTHING, we’re no longer being quiet about our successes, we’ve tried that and it’s got us nowhere. Starting today - Get a word doc/Notion page open and start writing down:
   - How you added value to the business today
   - Everytime a KPI was hit
   - Trained/upskilled someone else
   - Built out a new process
   - Completed a project
   - Learnt something new/got an award/certificate
   Basically, every single time you add value to the team/business, you best know it’s going on my list.
   We’re gonna need this list later - Here’s a great IG reel explaining loud work
   

2. Weekly updates
   Don’t for a minute expect your manager to be aware of all of the great things you’re doing every day. They care way too much about themselves for that.
   Every Friday, use your loud work list to send them a short list of all your wins
   This keeps you front of mind as a stellar employee and will make the payrise ‘yes’ much easier.

The conversation: Exactly when and how to get the salary you deserve

I’m taking you back to September 2022. I’m 26 years old.

I’d spent 1 whole year in my role and feeling like an imposter for being very clearly the youngest and least experienced person in every room.

We were having a meeting about a new goal-setting initiative the company was bringing in. In a room of 10 senior leaders, everyone seemed annoyed about the change. But I found it refreshing. I made my opinion heard and convinced everyone we needed to be positive and find a way for this to work.

After the meeting, my boss said to me: ‘I’m so pleased to have you because you aren’t stuck in your old ways’

I realised, the thing I felt the most insecure about (my age & experience)… Was my value. It wasn’t a hindrance, it was a gift.

I also had a feeling everyone around me was paid 2/3x higher than me, for similar responsibilities, and I’d always thought ‘yeah but I don’t have as much experience so it’s ok’.

That all changed, so I dusted off my old pay review meeting script and used it for the 4th time in my career so far.

Here’s the process:

1. Set up a meeting with your manager
   There is no right or wrong time, set a meeting and say ‘I want to discuss salary’ - You don’t need to be ‘ready’. If you’re unhappy I’d advise you do it this week.
   If they push back with ‘there’s no budget’ or ‘it’s the wrong time of year’ you respond ‘that’s fine, I still need to discuss with you this week’

2. The script
   I’m going to give you exactly what I say in these meetings, I even sometimes write this down on my notebook to make sure I say the exact words:

   Thank you for meeting with me, I needed to have this session because I am feeling really undervalued with the salary I’m being paid and I have been for a little while.

   I am generally happy in this job, and I can see me being here for years to come, but to do that I need to be paid fairly for the value I’m bringing.

   Over the last 3 months alone I have done X, Y Z wins (the loud list), and I believe a fair salary for my ongoing commitment would be £X.

   Then here’s the important bit….. Be QUIET.

3. Sit in silence
   Don’t say ‘I know there might be no budget’ or ‘I know times are tough’
   That’s not on you. If bad excuses need to be made here, better believe they’re not coming out of our mouth. That’s on them.

That’s your part done for now. Have to courage to have this conversation this week.

I dare you. What’s the absolute worst that can happen?

I’ll tell you actually, they say ‘we can’t’ or ‘there’s no budget’.

And if that happens, here’s what you’re gonna do…

Being reactive: What to do when you’re told ‘there’s no budget’

I could list off 1 million excuses bosses have told me why they can’t give me a pay rise then and there, but I won’t

Because whatever excuse is in your head can be solved with the same response.

Set a deadline, and ask closed ended questions.

You want firm answers, not empty promises.

Let me give you some examples:

‘There’s no budget at the moment’
→ ‘OK. What’s the timeline for the budget coming in?’

’Let me ask and come back to you’
→ ‘Great, I’ll set a date for us next week to follow up’

’It might not be as soon as next week’
→ ‘I’d like to set a date because this is important to me and it’s on my mind every day, when will work?’

‘I can’t do this now, we need to wait until Sepetmber to do payrises.’
→ September is still 6 months away, so am I going to have to continue working for less pay until then?
→ Can I get written confirmation that my number is achievable in September, and if there are any actions you need me to take before then, what are they?’

Very rarely will you get an immediate yes, and the bigger the company is, the more layer of approvals and systems you might have to go through to get what you deserve.

But never, ever take the first no.

Set deadlines and ask closed ended questions.

Continue to ask, follow up, chase them for an answer.

And after all that: What if it’s still a solid no?

There is only 2 reasons I’d stay at a company who are underpaying me:

• If I’m growing A LOT in some other way (i.e. you’re being up-skilled), and you’re happy to take a lower salary for a year to do this. But be very careful this doesn’t drag out too long. Still ask the questions, still have the meetings.

• OR… If I’m deeply happy working there
  And I mean the kind of happy that you are truly excited to go to work in the morning, you’re really passionate about what you do
  This is very rare, most people are miserable at work - so if you have this, and I mean truly have it, it’s ok to want to hold on for a little longer than a salary might tell you to.
  But still push, still ask, and make sure you’re consistently checking in on your happiness levels.