On previous coaching sessions you mentioned that the person who is asking for a raise needs to validate to you what you will get out of the situation if you pay him/her more. I am having a hard time with that. I feel strange saying “if you pay me more then I’ll do X, Y, Z better/faster, (or whatever the reason)”. Shouldn’t I already be doing my job to the best of my ability and then am able to ask for a raise because of that performance? How does it play out in your situations, as an example?

I’m strategizing asking for my own raise because I’ve been with the same company, a very large fortune 100 company, for almost 3 years and have stayed at the same rate. I get a good bonus plan attached to it, so I’m capable of earning a great amount of money, but I still feel that my base salary should keep up with inflation, my own knowledge increase, the value I bring to my customers, etc. (plus I also have access to the salary bands. I used to be in the mid-range and now I’ve dropped down to the 1st percentile because the salary ranges go up every year).

Thoughts? Thank you 🙂