When I was 25, I was working as the Client Services Supervisor at a company in Southern California. It being a startup, I had opportunity to try out many roles in the company. One day, the owners of the company asked me to come to the Board Room. There, I was told they had fired my boss and wanted to reward all the hard work and results I had been doing by making me Chief Operating Officer and providing me a 50% raise.

I realized at that moment they were very happy with me and if they thought I was unhappy than they would do anything within reason to make me happy and excited as I took on the bigger role. I also thought the chances of them firing me at that moment were virtually zero. They also were likely concerned I would be startled by my bosses departure. When they offered the raise instead of smiling with delight , I put a big frown on my face as if I was disgusted that they could only offer me a 50% raise and walked out of the room not uttering a word. When they came out to check on me and asked me why I’m not happy, I told them “guys I do appreciate what you have done for me , but I have (then listed my achievements and tangible results ) for the past year and continue to do better each quarter, I would feel much better moving forward if you doubled my salary and they agreed.

What I learned is when someone is getting a raise or a promotion or first getting hired, at that time when the company wants you the most is when you fight tooth and nail to get the best possible for yourself.

How can you negotiate your own raise? Record your performance, set a target and prepare your boss.

Record Your Performance
Be prepared to show, not tell, why you deserve a raise. Prepare a list of achievements to make your case for a pay raise. The more numbers you can provide, the better.

Set a Target
Entrepreneur suggests that in order to negotiate properly, you want to bring with you a number to the table. You can prepare this number by looking at salary sites like Payscale, Glassdoor or Salary, or by talking with other people in the industry.

Prepare Your Boss
Salary negotiations can be as uncomfortable for your boss as they are to you. Your boss has to consider a lot of factors in granting pay raises, and the decision may not be 100% in his or her hands. Schedule a time to meet and talk. If you have a regular performance review, that’s a good time to bring up the topic.

I learned early on in my career how to negotiate a raise and it has served me greatly. By following these three key tips, your salary negotiation has the potential to better than even you expect!