Before the Ask — Edition 01

Most people lose the raise before the conversation starts.

Not because they underperform. Because nothing is written down, the timing is wrong, and the number gets named by the other side. Before the Ask fixes the order of operations.

Start the two-minute diagnostic See what's in the Kit

Free · 8 questions · answers stay in your browser

An empty meeting room with one chair pulled out

Answer eight questions

The clock, the file, the leverage, the room, the ask. Two minutes, no sign-up to start.

Get your read

One of six raise positions, plus variations for your timing, your evidence and your situation.

Work the file

Scripts, a one-page case template and the lines to use when they say there is no budget.

When the situation changes

Two doors in a hallway, one slightly open — Before the Counteroffer$29

A tailor's measuring tape with one red pin — Before the Offer$29

A closed ledger with a red ribbon bookmark — Before the Second Ask$29

A small block casting a long shadow — Before the Title Talk$29

A split-flap board with one red flap mid-turn — Before the Rate Increase$29

Five conversations. One pack each.

The six positions

Everyone asking for money is standing in one of these.

File 01

The Market Mover

You have leverage, and you have it in writing.

Your case rests on what the market pays, and you can prove it. That is the sharpest instrument in this file — and the easiest to misuse. Play it as information, never as a threat.

File 02

The Gut Negotiator

Your instinct is right. Your paperwork isn't there yet.

You sense you are underpaid against the market and you are probably correct. But a feeling cannot be forwarded to a finance team, and that is who decides.

File 03

The Silent Promotion

You already got promoted. Nobody filed it.

You are doing a level above your title and you can show it. That is the strongest raise case there is — it is a paperwork gap, not a performance debate.

File 04

The Quiet Engine

The work is visible. You are not.

Things run because of you, and that is exactly why nobody notices. Your scope has grown, but nothing is written down, so reliability reads as background noise.

File 05

The Overdue Anchor

Your pay is dated. Your file is not.

Loyalty has quietly cost you money. Your salary reflects the person hired years ago — and you have the record to show what changed since.

File 06

The Long Wait

Years have passed. Nothing is written down.

You have waited longer than anyone should, and the record of why you deserve more lives in your head. Fix the file first; the ask gets easy afterwards.

Find out which one you're in, and what to do about it this month.

Take the diagnostic