Negotiating an offer - getting impatient

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified)
in
Career Management

Is there anything I can do to "persuade" my manager-to-be to make me a better offer for a potential job?

I recently received an offer letter from a company for a Regional Sales Manager position. The base salary is the same as my current job, but there are some benefits I would not receive at the new company. There is also commission-based compensation, which represents 25% of the total (provided I meet 100% of the target every month, and it could go up or down depending on results)

I replied to the offer letter asking them whether they could improve the base salary, and stated my original expectation that I stated during the interview process. The difference between my minimum and their first offer is about 16%. Base salary + commission is exactly in the middle of my stated range. (e.g. the total compensation is within my stated range)

I wrote back to them on Friday, and called them on Monday to follow-up. The HR Manager that made me the offer told me that my manager-to-be is considering my request, and I should wait for them to get back to me.

Is there anything I could do to "nudge" them, or will that just seem impatient? I'm guessing all I can do now is be patient and wait for them to get back to me. A lot is going through my head: are they considering another candidate? Why are they taking so long to get back to me? At least they didn't outright say "no" and seem to be open for negotiation...

I'm very interested in the position, but I'm nervous I may have priced myself out. Also, this would be my first sales position, so I don't have experience with base + commission compensation...

Thanks for your support.

Submitted by Talinge Noxtort on Wednesday April 6th, 2011 12:34 pm

 I really don't think there is anything you can do to nudge them.
There was a thread recently from someone else talking about a job before much lower than he expected, and there was a lot of good feedback given to him.

Submitted by Jeffery Bock on Wednesday April 6th, 2011 1:46 pm

Just guessing at potential numbers here -  80K vs 93K.... this isn't a life-changing amount of money, but you may be pricing yourself out of the position. 16% isn't a huge amount of money. If you really want the job, why not take it? If it's a good career move and you really want the position, you could take a pay cut to take the job. If you're only in it for the money, then keep looking (obviously while waiting to hear back from this company).
More to answer your question - Unless you know what their offer process looks like it's impossible to say. Even if they are going to come back and offer more money, a new offer may have to go through an approval process, which might take a day or a week or two. And the hiring manager may have not even decided if it's worth it. I would guess that anything you do to try and nudge them will be seen as rude and demanding. Keep following up once a week, and stay positive and excited.
-JIB
 
 

Submitted by John Schlosser on Wednesday April 6th, 2011 4:05 pm

 Thanks for the reply,  @JIB88

Your figures are higher because of where I live, but the range is about the same: there's a ~$10k difference between what they're offering and what I'm asking for.
Looking at it from a different angle, 16% isn't a huge amount of money, but it's worth more to me than it is to them. Hence, I thought I would go ahead and ask. I figured the worst that can happen is they say "No, this is our only offer.", in which case I will possibly take the job anyway.
In the meantime I will be patient and keep looking in case that doesn't work out. I'll get excited when I accept a good offer and can resign from my current position.
Cheers!