fishagain

Strategic Partner Manager

Got promotion - Asked for more pay but boss said no... should I ask again? (meeting today)

Currently a Business Development Manager in shipping tech. Base 62.5, hit on track to hit OTE of 82.5k this year. Applied for an internal role, and got promoted to Strategic Partner Manager (aka, building channel sales program with our director, and finding integration partners, and managing the channel partners after we've built some up). Base increased to 80K, OTE TBD because channel partners is a brand new segment we're opening up. Projected to be 100k give or take.

Got presented the offer last Friday, and asked on the spot if we could do 85K + an extra week of vacay (currently at 3 weeks). Boss (SVP) said to leave it with him over the weekend.

Boss emailed last night saying he can't give more, but that it represents a 28% increase to my base already and that it shows how much they appreciate me (which is true). Meeting with him later today to discuss the offer and finalize it. Already taking a W, but should I ask for the extra vacation even though he already said he couldn't offer anything more?

My rationale is that vacay doesn't hurt the balance sheet, and the only time I'm negotiating for anything is when I get a promotion or a new job.

🤝 Interviewing/Offer

💯 Promotions

19

33 comments

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poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

10

☕️

Vacation DOES hurt their balance sheet. Unlimited PTO exists so that employers can stop holding money on the books that they'd otherwise owe you when you leave. They won't give you extra vacation because they don't want to earmark that money (do the math on your hourly rate * 5 days).

jefe

Arsonist

1

🍁

GREAT point right here and solid insight.

UrAssIsSaaS

Arsonist

5

SaaS Eater

Are you already maxing your 3 weeks? if not why even ask? What @poweredbycaffeine said gives you context on why they are going to say no. I love that you are asking but at this point I think it hurts your brand as much as anything to just keep asking for more.

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

5

☕️

"They say you don't get what you don't ask for"...well you already asked. Going back to the well during a drought makes you look like crazy, not enterprising.

fishagain

Executive

0

Strategic Partner Manager

good point. im not maxing it out atm, but have a big trip coming in December where I'm working remotely part of the way, and taking the rest of my PTO. couldn't hurt to have extra time, but its not a deal breaker. the challenge is i don't have any leverage in negotiating since this is an internal promo where i dont have another offer on hand. thanks

CuriousFox

WR Officer

3

🦊

You just got a good raise though?

fishagain

Executive

0

Strategic Partner Manager

yeah, the offer was made on friday, but he took some time to think about my counter over the weekend. either way its a good step up. i don't really lose anything as it basically guaranteed my OTE from this year + more interesting work and opportunity to earn more.

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

3

Sales

Are there non compensation things that you’d want now? Better work from options? Subscription to a local we work type set up? Company car if you drive for work, or better company car. Think outside the box a little.

fishagain

Executive

1

Strategic Partner Manager

great idea. a wework subscription would be a great perk. my only worry is that i'd be creating more work for my boss to give me these. will consider it thanks

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

2

Sales

Also consider other things like, additional headcount if your pipeline is above x. Or adding marketing budget to your specific line of business. What about a bigger budget for client events or entertainment if that’s viable. These things could help you sell more and that’s the goal.

Diablo

Politicker

2

Sr. AE

Congrats on he new role @fishagain

Depends upon how good is your relationship with him? I understand the hike they gave might be more but at the same time you role/responsibilities etc also increase. If I were you and unhappy about it, I would speak about it and see if still is still any scope.

fishagain

Executive

1

Strategic Partner Manager

im pretty happy with the scope, but I figured it's worth asking for something since times like this are the only times when i'd negotiate my rate. one of my mentors was saying that I should just take it and go into the meeting just to clarify that there will be a commission component, and that we should revisit the breakdown of that by Q1

Diablo

Politicker

1

Sr. AE

Good call, all the best!

SaaSam

Politicker

2

Account Executive

I guess it would depend if he was just saying no to the pay increase or if he was saying no to your request as a whole. If you think he was only addressing the pay then you should bring up the PTO.

If he was shooting down the whole request, bringing it up could be pushing your luck.

Mobi85

Politicker

1

Regional Sales Manager

I don’t think asking again makes sense, you asked once and they came back with a sensible response as to why they won’t be able to offer more.
On the flip side, what is the commission %? I understand it is a brand new market so you may be facing a longer sales cycle and that could be where you could possibly negotiate

fishagain

Executive

0

Strategic Partner Manager

fair point. he said the commission should get me +20k~, but because the program is so new and not built out yet, the metrics will constantly be evolving. first Q is going to be a lot of mapping and creating SOPs. good idea to bring up the commission % though, thanks.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

You have a great raise! Congratulations!

fishagain

Executive

0

Strategic Partner Manager

thank you!

Flippinghubs

Opinionated

1

Account Executive

Cant hurt to ask

Justatitle

Big Shot

1

Account Executive

If I’m being honest, the base increase is solid, PTO days whatever, the thing I’d ask for is the OTE increase. “Hey, base is great PTO fine, let’s talk about how I can incentivize myself to do better and hit some accelerators as well as make $$$ from commission” seems like that variable is rather low.

fishagain

Executive

0

Strategic Partner Manager

thx, agreed. in the contract, they stipulated that 20k is the max, so I'm assuming that would be in the form of a bonus if I hit KPIs instead of an OTE based on commission.

boss said a lot of the first year is based on setting up the program, and getting that 20k will be if my new director and I hit leading indicators/KPIs which are still TBD. i guess the big raise is insulating me from risk, since it guarantees my OTE from last year, but still gives me an opp to earn more if we can make this program a success

CRAG112

Valued Contributor

0

Account Executive

You just made an excellent point about your main point.

base = previous OTE but uncertainty on extra cash moving forward. At least for now.

that does sound like a win to me.

pinkiesup

Catalyst

1

AE

Congrats on the promotion! You are getting a really significant increase in your base so I wouldn’t push it if he’s saying no. But again never hurts to ask (esp in this economy)

MonthEndSpecial

Valued Contributor

0

Enterprise Account Executive

It's pretty simple. Is it worth it for you to change the money they offered? If yes, take the job. If no, stay in your current role.

I had a similar thing happen to me. We were acquired, and the company that bought us wouldn't allow for more than a 30% salary increase, even though they would pick someone up off the street for more. I took it. Now, I am going to leave them. Doesn't make sense why they wouldn't pay more, but they made their bed.

fishagain

Executive

0

Strategic Partner Manager

would be taking it for sure. the promotion basically gives me my current OTE + commission. i suppose not getting the extra 5k or week of pto wont make a big difference in the long run. 30% is probably the top of the range I could get if I swapped companies. i think this role is harder to get into without prior experience in the company. just figured i'd try to ask for more anyways, but not sure if he's seeing if I push back when he says no or its a candid firm no.

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

0

Account Executive

I mean, this is sounding a bit like you’re trapped in a vacuum, I’ve found that in the SaaS world making a move externally will always yield more money

AccountBoy911

Good Citizen

0

VP of BD

Great comments below, but it doesn't seem like you have any leverage. They presented an offer which is a substantial increase to your base- you likely won't see a 28% raise again until you leave the company. I like that you did counter, but they know you will need to leave the company to see this type of base. I would write them an email thanking them and ready to start.

fishagain

Executive

0

Strategic Partner Manager

thanks, my thoughts exactly. thats what i ended up doing with my boss yesterday. thought about asking for the extra PTO, but at that point its scraping for change, 1 week would've been 1.5k approx value, not worth dying on that hill. company is growing substantially, so the idea is this role could grow into a more senior position, which hopefully would give a bump in base/ote then as well.

AccountBoy911

Good Citizen

0

VP of BD

Made the right choice in my opinion. Worst case if the job isn't great or you feel underpaid, you know can go into the market. I doubled my base in 14 months through a similar situation

fishagain

Executive

0

Strategic Partner Manager

nice! congratulations

username69

Good Citizen

0

Sales Manager

Why not ask for a revision for the extra 5k/ vacay after first 3/6 months in the new role based on some KPIs you set together now?

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

0

Sales Rep

Absolutely ask again, if they say no, look for new jobs!

CRAG112

Valued Contributor

0

Account Executive

You could retort and say partner managers on average do make more on the base side.

Or. You could take that BS a answer that says we already gave you too much, do well, and find a new role later that will certainly pay a ton more.

good partner sales people get that money.

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