- Asking for a raise
- Confronting a backstabber
- Firing an employee
- Negotiating for more severance
- Ending a friendship
- Confronting a sexual harasser
- Debating vacations with your spouse
- Heading off potential client problems
Excerpt from Lifescript #7. Asking for a Salary Increase
Icebreaker: Id like to thank you for the opportunity you and the company have given me. I recognize that youve been very influential in my growth and advancement. However, I have a problem that I need your help with.
Pitch #1: Ive been concentrating solely on my professional growth and havent been paying attention to my stream of income
Pitch #2: I think my salary no longer reflects my contribution to the company
Pitch #3: I think my salary no longer matches my job responsibilities
Whether youre asking for a raise, confronting a backstabber, dealing with sexual harassment, Þring an employee, renegotiating a loan, discussing elder care with siblings, or asking your spouse to lose weight, scripts give you the most effective approachand the actual wordsto use.
Each of the scripts provide you with an icebreaker opener, a "pitch," and a ßow-chart of rejoinders to give any response, positive or negative.
Youll also Þnd strategic pointers on attitude, timing, preparation, and behavior.
From a heart-to-heart chat with a friend to a boardroom confrontation with a CEO, scripts provide a map to navigate successfully through the most complicated and dreaded situations you may face in your career, business, and personal life.
Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Secret of Using Lifescripts. PART I: LIFESCRIPTS FOR THE OFFICE.
Chapter One: Lifescripts for Job Hunting.
1: Cold Calling for an Informational Interview.
2: Asking a Manager for Job-Hunting Advice.
3: Asking a Current Supervisor for a Job Recommendation.
4: Responding to a Salary Offer.
5: Interviewing for a Career-Shift Job.
6: Responding to Tough Interview Questions.
Chapter Two: Lifescripts for Dealing with Superiors.
7: Asking for a Salary Increase.
8: Asking for a Promotion.
9: Asking for Flextime.
10: Asking for Emergency Leave.
11: Asking for an Increased Budget.
12: Breaking Bad News to a Boss.
13: Maximizing a Performance Review.
14: Asking for a Salary Advance.
15: Meeting a New Boss.
16: Justifying an Expense Report.
17: Pitching a Reluctant Supervisor.
18: Refusing an Assignment.
19: Asking for a Deadline Extension.
20: Asking for Relief from an Assignment.
21: Asking Someone to Become Your Mentor.
22: Asking for a Lateral Reassignment.
23: Warning Your Superior of Potential Client Problems.
24: Warning Your Superior of Potential Vendor Problems.
Chapter Three: Lifescripts for Dealing with Subordinates.
25: Criticizing a Subordinate's Work.
26: Turning Down a Raise Request.
27: Adding Responsibilities without Adding Pay.
28: Changing a Subordinate's Job Status to Part-Time.
29: Announcing a Salary Reduction.
30: Warning a Subordinate to Stop Drinking.
31: Fixing a Flextime Problem.
32: Turning Down a Promotion Request.
33: Giving a Negative Performance Review.
34: Correcting Repeated Mistakes by a Subordinate.
35: Turning Down a Subordinate's Request for Time Off.
Chapter Four: Lifescripts for Office Politics and Behavior.
36: Confronting a Backstabbing Peer.
37: Ratting on a Colleague.
38: Complaining About an Immediate Superior's Behavior.
39: Confronting a Sexual Harasser.
40: Tactfully Suggesting Better Hygiene.
41: Suggesting No Further Drinking to a Peer.
42: Dealing with a Sexual Harassment Charge between Subordinates.
43: Going over Your Boss's Head.
44: Demanding Better Work Habits from a Subordinate.
45: Asking a Subordinate to Improve Her Appearance.
46: Handling a Subordinate's Personal Use of Equipment.
Chapter Five: Lifescripts for Terminations.
47: Giving Two Weeks' Notice to Your Boss.
48: Negotiating for More Severance.
49: Firing an Employee.
PART II: LIFESCRIPTS FOR BUSINESS.
Chapter Six: Lifescripts for Customers and Clients.
50: Cold Calling a Potential Client.
51: Explaining an Overcharge to a Client.
52: Breaking Bad News to a Client.
53: Refusing a Client's Request.
54: Resurrecting a Former Client.
55: Dealing with a Client Who Is Angry with Your Staff.
56: Correcting a Client's Behavior.
57: Apologizing to a Client for Your Own Mistake.
Chapter Seven: Lifescripts for Lenders and Investors.
58: Being Interviewed by an Institutional Investor.
59: Asking an Institutional Investor for More Money.
60: Approaching a "Friendly" Investor.
61: Asking a "Friendly" Investor for More.
62: Asking an Institutional Lender for More.
63: Asking an Institutional Lender to Recast Terms.
64: Approaching a "Friendly" Lender.
65: Asking a "Friendly" Lender to Recast Terms.
66: Approaching the Representative of a "Friendly" Lender.
Chapter Eight: Lifescripts for Vendors.
67: Asking a Vendor to Reduce a Price.
68: Complaining to a Vendor About Service.
69: Getting a Vendor to Come in with a Very Low Bid.
70: Asking a Vendor to Accelerate Work.
Chapter Nine: Lifescripts for Partners.
71: Asking a Partner to Do More Work.
72: Asking a Partner to Improve Behavior.
73: Asking a Partner to Contribute More Money.
74: Complaining to a Partner about One of His Family Members.
Chapter Ten: Lifescripts for Sales.
75: Renegotiating a Price with a Client or Customer.
76: Explaining a Delay to a Client or Customer.
77: Overcoming Stalls When Selling.
PART III: LIFESCRIPTS FOR PERSONAL FINANCE.
Chapter Eleven: Lifescripts for Consumer Issues.
78: Complaining about a Service Provider's Work.
79: Returning Unwanted Merchandise for a Cash Refund.
80: Asking a Craftsperson to Redo Work.
81: Getting a Manufacturer to Honor an Expired Warranty.
82: Appealing a Bureaucratic Decision.
83: Returning a Meal in a Restaurant.
84: Suggesting an Overcharge Took Place.
85: Requesting Better Service from a Professional.
86: Setting a Professional's Fee.
87: Terminating a Relationship with a Professional.
Chapter Twelve: Lifescripts for Creditors and Lenders.
88: Asking a Creditor for More Time.
89: Arguing a Creditor Out of Collection.
90: Explaining a Prior Bankruptcy to a Lender.
91: Appealing a Loan Rejection.
92: Asking for a Lower Interest Rate on Your Credit Card.
93: Handling a Telephone Call from a Bill Collector.
Chapter Thirteen: Lifescripts for the Family.
94: Discussing Funeral Planning with Your Parents.
95: Discussing Funeral Costs with Siblings.
96: Discussing Parents' Elder Care Costs with Siblings.
97: Splitting a Deceased Parent's Personal Property.
98: Offering Financial Help to Parents.
99: Asking a Parent for Money in an Emergency.
100: Asking a Parent for Money in a Nonemergency.
101: Discussing Wedding Expenses with Parents.
102: Suggesting a Prenuptial Agreement with Your Future Spouse.
103: Negotiating a Big-Ticket Purchase with Your Spouse.
104: Debating Vacations with Your Spouse.
105: Discussing Potential Relocation with Your Spouse.
106: Raising the Issues of AIDS Testing and Safe Sex Practices.
107: Breaking an Engagement.
108: Ending a Personal Relationship.
109: Asking Your Spouse to Lose Weight.
About the Author :
For over thirty-five years, attorney and financial consultant Stephen M. Pollan has been offering pragmatic career, financial, business, and legal advice to individuals and businesses. He was CNBC?s on-air personal finance expert for five years, is a frequent guest on The Today Show and Good Morning America, and contributes regularly to Worth, Working Woman, New York, Money, and U.S. News & World Report magazines. He and Mark Levine have co-authored many books on business and personal finance.
