Hey, Gerta here! Sharing some learnings that came up recently from working with execs.

Here are my observations and hypotheses as to why:

1️⃣ Execs are over-confident. They think they’re great negotiators. And they are! But that doesn't mean they’re not leaving value on the table. So they bring into negotiations the confidence that serves them well in most other settings, instead of a humble, creative, and collaborative disposition that's needed in an effective negotiation. And that often leads to them leaving value on the table.

2️⃣ There’s more ego involved in keeping a title or level. A Senior PM can take another role at another company with a PM title. It’s not that big a deal. Plus different companies call the same role differently, happens often. A Chief Product Officer has a harder time going to a lower title because it’s more visibly seen as a step down.

3️⃣ There are fewer exec roles available. Just by nature of how an organization is typically structured, triangle-shaped, there’s tens of PMs vs only one CPO.

4️⃣ There are fewer financial incentives for them to negotiate. An extra $100K (which is the average amount we help our clients increase their offers by) for someone who’s already making 7 figures is not as meaningful as it is for someone making mid-6 figures.

5️⃣Execs bring “big exec energy” to the negotiation. Similar to point 1 above, execs often got to where they are because they’re direct and clear communicators. Sometimes, this comes off as too aggressive and demanding, when a lighter touch could actually thaw resistance on the employer’s end to giving them more.
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Can you think of anything else? Feel free to reply here!

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Best,

Gerta & Alex
​Co-founders, YourNegotiations.com

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